NATUTUWA ang 2016 Miss World Philippines na si Catriona Gray sa suportang nakukuha niya sa Pinoy fans, lalo na sa mga nag-uudyok sa kanyang sumali uli sa Binibining Pilipinas.
Sa recent episode ng “ShowbizLive”, (hosted by Ervin Santiago and Izel Abanilla, tuwing Wednesday, 8PM sa Radyo Inquirer 990, Inquirer Television, Facebook Live ng Inquirer.net at Bandera) nagkaroon kami ng pagkakataon na makakuwentuhan ang beauty queen na fresh na fresh pa from Hongkong.
Binalikan namin ang nangyari noong ni-represent niya ang Pilipinas sa Miss World 2016. Halos lahat ng Pinoy at nagkaisa sa pagsasabing napakaganda ng sagot ni Catriona sa tanong na, “Why should you be the next Miss World Philippines?”
Na sinagot ng dalaga ng, “To be a Miss World is to be passed a torch that burns with passion, and purpose. If I become Miss World Philippines, I will carry my voice and my essence to carry that torch and to set charitable causes alight, such as my personal advocacy, the Paraiso Bright Beginnings Project. And I would focus on passing on this torch to empower others because I believe together, there is no darkness in this world that our light cannot overcome.”
Aniya gustong-gusto niya ang metaphor ng torch dahil naniniwala siya na hindi lamang dekorasyon ang korona kundi isang bagay na ipinapasa to empower people.
“In this day and age beauty queens are put on higher platforms than before. We’re not just there to sit and look pretty,” dagdag niya.
Never daw niyang naisip na mananalo siya ever. Confident pa rin siya pero hindi nawala ang doubt sa kanya. Nu’ng ina-announce na nga ang finalists ay lagi siyang nagdarasal.
Isa sa pinakamabigat na naranasan niya sa pageant ay ang tindi ng pressure ng tingin ng mundo sa kanya, kung saan alam niya na halos lahat ng nanonood ay dyina-judge na siya. Dagdag pa ang pressure mula sa very supportive na mga Pinoy.
“After, after, after that’s when all the fans went in front of me and went, ’Cat, we love you. We are so proud of you. You make us proud to be Filipinos and that’s when my viral photo of holding the flag happened and I was crying,” kuwento pa ng dalaga.
Kaya nga siguro pagkatapos ng kompetisyon ay todo bakasyon si Cat. Nag-bonding daw sila ng family niya at kung saan-saan siya pumunta tulad ng Canada, New York at Germany at recently nga sa Hong Kong.
Sa Miss World, may talent portion. Na-amaze siya sa mga talent ng mga ka-batch niya for Miss World 2016. Kumanta siya noon kaya humirit din kami ng pasampol sa kanya. At amazing ang boses niya, huh! Kabaliktaran sa hinhin niyang magsalita, very powerful and full ang boses niya kapag kumanta na.
Charity ang pinagkakaabalahan niya ngayon. Isang very memorable part sa kanya ‘yung pagbuo ng Beauty With a Purpose kung saan na-highlight ang kanyang charity organization na naka-base sa Tondo. Napasama ang ginawa nila sa top five ng buong competition.
Dahil nga bumilib sa kanya ang mga Pinoy, maraming Pinoy ang nagsasabi na sumali muli siya ng Binibining Pilipinas, “Can you imagine that night after the competition I had comments already like, ‘it’s ok, Revenge join Binibini 2017.” Bilib na bilib din siya sa suporta ng mga Pinoy, lalo na pagdating sa mga charity programs na ginagawa nya.
Pero aniya hindi na niya kakayanin at kailangan niya munang magpahinga pero may pahabol siya, “I’m keeping the idea there. I’m not closing it. But I want to rest first. I’m not crown hungry, eh. I love representing my country, I love being a spokesperson and I love doing good. That’s the beauty I see in being a beauty queen.”
Sa pagpasok naman sa mundo ng showbiz, wala pa ito sa isip niya. Una hirap siyang mag-Tagalog. Isa pang nakikita niyang problema ay baka mahirapang maghanap ng leading man na kayang abutin ang height niyang 5-foot-10. Sa ngayon hosting and singing pa lang siya confident.
For the boys naman sorry na lang kayo dahil taken na si Catriona. Na-meet niya ang kanyang boyfriend sa isang commercial shoot na ginawa nila together.
After ng “ShowbizLive” nagkaroon pa kami ng chance na makausap si Catriona. Nagbigay siya ng opinyon tungkol sa sagot ni Maxine Medina sa katatapos lang na Miss Universe.
“I think she answered to the best of her capability at that time. Kasi as I have said you don’t know what’s going through the girls head. It might be blank, it might be what thoughts should I grasp on too.
Especially being in front of so many people and it’s the Philippines home crowd. I think she really tried her best and I think that’s the idea that popped up and she clasped on it to the best of her ability.”
Bilib din siya kay 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach. Gustong-gusto niya ang istorya ng dalaga na ilang beses sumali sa Binibini hanggang sa makuha ang kanyang pangarap.
Beauty Pageant Q&A Challenge
If you were to meet the President of the Philippines what would you tell him? If I were to meet President Rodrigo Duterte, I would bring to light my advocacy because it is really one thing I can speak from the heart and if I could get government assistance or even help to gain awareness of the cause I think it would be a wonderful way to help the people in Tondo.
What is the most important advice you can give to the next aspiring Miss World? I think you need to know why you are in it in the first place. You need to be true to that purpose. You need to have a purpose because if you don’t it almost feels like you are not representing anything. Your country naman pero if you can find a purpose, if you find a core that you can branch off of. It will bring more weight to your title and therefore the impact you would make on the world stage.
What is the most significant change that you have seen in the world in the past 10 years? 10 years ago I was just 13 years old and the internet was just growing into a seedling to something that would overtake our entire lives. From how we interact with each other, how we connect to world issues, how we participate into certain causes or how we voice our opinions. And the world has been so shaped by social media that I feel that we can’t go back to the way we were.