Herlene Budol. Image: YouTube/Screengrab from GMA Network
Days after her question-and-answer gaffe at the Miss Grand Philippines (MGPh) 2023 pageant, Herlene Budol has once again apologized for her performance, as she stressed that she’s serious about joining the pageant.
It can be recalled that Budol drew flak after giving a hilarious response towards an interviewer’s question on why she deserves to be crowned as MGPh 2023, which had become viral on the internet.
During a “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” interview on Wednesday, June 28, the actress-beauty queen said that while she’s serious about joining the national tilt, she admitted that she didn’t understand the question that was given to her.
“Para sa’kin po, seryoso naman po ako sa ginagawa kong ‘to pero hindi ko talaga naintindihan ang tanong. Hindi ko po alam kung bakit, kahit sanay naman po akong [tinatanong] ng maraming tao. Siguro noong time na ‘yun, wala po akong tulog, wala po akong kain, pero hindi po ‘yun reason para hindi ako makasagot,” she said.
(For me, I’m serious with what I’m doing but I didn’t understand the question. I don’t know why because I’m used to being asked by a lot of people. Perhaps, at that time, I didn’t have any sleep or a proper meal, but it’s still not a reason to answer the question properly.)
The “Magandang Dilag” star then apologized for her pageant blunder, as she pointed out that she’s open to learning from her mistake. Budol earlier issued a statement on her Facebook page, saying she “lost composure” during the pageant’s press presentation.
“Siguro noong time na ‘yun, kahit tawagin nila akong bobo o t*ng*, okay lang po. Ang natutunan ko sa pagkakamali na ‘to is more talk, more mistakes, more learnings,” she said. “Kaya gusto kong matuto sa lahat ng pagkakamali ko sa buhay. At humihingi po ako ng sorry… at hindi naman po ito matatapos sa isang pagkakamali. Pwede pa naman pong itama ‘yun.”
(At the time, even if they call me stupid or careless, it’s okay. What I’ve learned with this incident is, the more you talk, the more mistakes you’d make, but more learnings. I want to learn from all of my mistakes in life. And I just want to say sorry, as this wouldn’t end with a single mistake. I still have a chance to make it right.)
Budol also shared that the negative comments had an impact on her mental health, as she admitted that she initially thought of backing out from the national tilt for good.
“Iniisip ko kung deserve ko pa [bang] sumali after ng mga sinasabi sa’kin ng mga tao. Umabot na sa point na hindi ako makatulog, hindi po ako nakakapag-cellphone, dinelete ko na lahat ng apps sa cellphone ko, at hindi na ako kumakain for two days,” she said.
“Dito po kasi, hindi ko maipagtanggol ang aking sarili kasi mali nga raw ‘yung sagot ko po. Nababasa ko nga lahat ng comments kaya sabi ko sa kanila, ‘Ang galing niyong mambash. Naapektuhan ako.’ ‘Yung mental health ko n’un, zero,” she continued.
(I wondered if I still deserved to join after what people told me. I reached the point of not being able to sleep, not using my cellphone, deleting all of my apps from my cellphone, and not eating for two days. At the moment, I couldn’t defend myself from what happened. I read all of the comments so I just said, “You did great at bashing me. I was affected.” My mental health was at zero.)
Despite this, the actress-comedienne maintained that she wants to continue on with the pageant, and hoped that the incident would serve as a learning experience in her future pursuits.
“[Pero] naisip ko rin na kung mag-back out ako dito o kung lumaban ako ngayon, win or lose, matalo or manalo, at least [iisipin ng mga tao na naging] inspirasyon [ako para] lumalaban hanggang dulo,” she added. (But I thought that either I back out or keep on fighting, I hope that people would think that I’m still an inspiring person who chose to keep going until the end.)
Budol was touted by pageant fans as one of the early favorites to win the Miss Grand Philippines 2023 title. However, she said at the pageant’s press presentation that she wants to gain the respect of her peers.
“Base po sa experience ko last year noong nanalo ako, hindi po iyong crown ang napanalunan ko, kundi iyong respeto po ng tao. Dati tinatawag lang akong ‘hoy Hipon kumusta?’ Ngayon po tinatawag na akong ‘Ms. Herlene, Ms. Nicole.’ Grabe po iyong respeto, grabe po iyong pag-angat ng [confidence] ko bilang ako. Nadagdagan po ang pagkatao ko dahil sa pagsali ko,” she said.
The candidate was named as first runner-up in the Binibining Pilipinas 2022 pageant prior to joining MGPh 2023. EDV