Bb. Pilipinas candidates nagbahagi ng mensahe para sa Women’s Month

IPINAGDIRIWANG hindi lang sa Pilipinas kundi maging sa malaking panig ng mundo ang “Women’s Month” tuwing Marso. At kinausap ng Inquirer ang ilan sa mga kandidata ng 2023 Binibining Pilipinas pageant mula sa mga lalawigan kaugnay ng okasyon.

“I’m just so grateful because Bb. Pilipinas is really a testament to the milestones in closing the gender gap in our country, and I am filled with gratitude. I’m happy because we are making progress towards equality. Words cannot describe how I’m feeling right now to be a part of this,” sinabi ng dentistang si Trisha Martinez mula Laguna nang pumasyal ang mga kandidata sa Art in Island multimedia museum sa Araneta City sa Quezon City noong Peb. 28.

Trisha Martinez, Laguna/ARMIN P. ADINA

Sinabi naman ng nagbabalik na kandidatang si Anna Valencia Lakrini na “times are changing, and so are we.” Umuwi siya sa bansa ng ina noong 2022 dalawang linggo makaraang grumadweyt sa University of Vienna.

“I think that we women are often undervalued or underestimated. Women’s Month is a great adventure for us to celebrate women and womanhood, because we women are strong and powerful,” pagpapatuloy pa niya.

Para naman kay reigning Miss Bikini Philippines Zeah Nestle Pala, ang Women’s Month ay “celebrating gender equity and, of course, women empowerment.” Hinikayat din niya ang mga Pilipino na isali rin sa pagdiriwang ang mga lalaking gumaganap sa papel ng babae. “I’m proud to say that one of my family members is also like that, and I really wanna tell my uncle that I am so proud of him for being a man who is doing the responsibility of a woman,” ibinahagi ng kandidata mula sa lalawigan ng Tarlac.

Zeah Nestle Pala, Tarlac/ARMIN P. ADINA

Gayunpaman, hangad pa rin nila ang ibayo at higit na pinaigting na pagsusulong sa kapakanan ng kababaihan sa lipunan.

“I want to see equality not just in politics, not just in government, but everywhere, like in the workplace,” ani Martinez. Hinimok pa niya ang ride-hailing companies na kumuha ng mas maraming babaeng driver. “Minsan nag-book ako, babae ang driver. Napaka-komportable ko, at very proud ako,” aniya.

Sinabi naman ni Pala na, “what I would want to see is to accept each other, and to respect each other. It’s really not the gender, it’s how you treat each other that matters most.”

Anna Valencia Lakrini, Bataan/ARMIN P. ADINA

Ayaw namang lagyan ni Lakrini ng hangganan kung anuman ang kayang makamit ng pagkilos ng kababaihan. “We women can do anything we want to do. It’s just that we as a society, you have to accept that women are more capable than you think they can,” aniya.

“It’s not just about bearing a child, it’s so much more. We can do everything a man can do. Times are changing and it’s good. But I think it has to put in more work,” pagpapatuloy pa niya.

Itatanghal ang 2023 Bb. Pilipinas coronation night sa Smart Araneta Coliseum sa Araneta City sa Mayo. Hindi pa sinasabi ng Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. kung ilang korona ang igagawad sa patimpalak ngayong taon.