Miss Tourism Philippines Herlene Budol/ARMIN P. ADINA
Days after Herlene Budol announced that she will no longer be joining beauty pageants, the comedian-beauty queen appeared to have changed her mind as she is now saying that she is just taking a breather from pageantry in order to improve her skills.
Budol made the revelation in an interview with TV hosts Kim Atienza and Susan Enriquez in an episode of “Dapat Alam Mo!,” as seen on GMA Network’s YouTube channel last Thursday, Aug. 3. The topic was brought up after she was asked if she’s firm on bidding goodbye to pageantry for good.
“Herlene, sasali ka pa ba ulit sa ibang beauty pageant or end of the road na ba ang pagiging beaucon-era mo (Herlene, will you still join beauty pageants or it’s really the end of the road for you)? Yes or no?” Enriquez asked the actress-beauty queen, who responded with an “oo ata” before changing her answer to “maybe.”
“Edi ‘yung pag-goodbye mo sa YouTube, hindi pala tunay na goodbye ‘yun (So it means that your goodbye on YouTube wasn’t a real goodbye)?” Atienza said in a follow-up question.
Shaking her head, Budol clarified that her earlier declaration was made after she initially thought that she wouldn’t be representing the Philippines at a global tilt. She, however, didn’t disclose which international pageant she would compete in during the interview.
“Hindi po. Sinabi ko po na ‘I’m signing off’ kasi wala pa po akong Miss Philippines Tourism na ipagdadayo ko po. Kumbaga, wala pa pong franchise na kukuha d’un sa international na paglalabanan ko. After n’un, lalaban pa rin ako sa international,” she said.
“After n’un, baka magpahinga muna ako at papagalingin ko muna sarili ko. Focus muna ako sa kung anong meron ako ngayon. [M]agpapatalino po ako at tsaka magpe-pray” she continued.
(No. I said that I was “signing off” because there’s no Miss Philppines Tourism that I would join. In other words, there’s no other franchise for my pageant title. After that, I will still join an international pageant. After that, I would take a rest and improve my skills. I’ll focus on what I have now. I will make myself smarter and pray.)
Budol, who was crowned as Miss Philippines Tourism 2023 last July, won’t represent the Philippines in the Miss Tourism World tilt due to franchise licensing matters, according to a claim by Hiyas ng Pilipinas chairman Mike Sordilla.
“But Miss Grand [Philippines] didn’t mention that it’s Miss Tourism World [where Budol will compete], people are just the ones mentioning it. I’m not really sure where the confusion is. Insofar as the legalities are concerned, at Hiyas ng Pilipinas we have the grants, and we have the franchise licenses,” he told INQUIRER.net.
The beauty queen previously declared that she’s bidding goodbye to pageantry for good in a vlog, after realizing that she’s apparently not capable of representing the country in international competitions. EDV