Mutya ng Pilipinas-Luzon Shannon Robinson/ARMIN P. ADINA
NANG hiranging Mutya ng Pilipinas-Luzon si Shannon Robinson nitong Disyembre, isang puwesto na lang at nakamit na sana niya ang isang titulong maghahatid sa kanya sa isang pandaigdigang patimpalak. Ngunit hinayag ng oranisasyong sasabak na rin pala siya sa ibayong-dagat.
Sa isang press conference sa CWC Interiors sa Taguig City noong Marso 29, sinabi ng Mutya ng Pilipinas organization na nakuha na rin nito ang prangkisa ng Miss Environment International pageant at si Robinson ang isasalang nito sa ikalawang edisyon ng patimpalak sa Hunyo. Sinabi ng reyna sa Inquirer sa isang panayam na inakala niyang may pagkakamali lang nang mabalitaan niya ito.
“I was actually at an airport on my way back from Malaysia. I saw a little poster with my face on it, I thought it was a rumor going around or something, but it was actually from Sir Fred (Yuson, Mutya chair) and Ms. Cory (Quirino, Mutya president), kind of surprising me into the announcement,” ibinahagi niya.
At nang nakumpira niyang totoo ito, tinawagan niya agad ang lola niya. “She’s loving this journey for me, and everything that I do is really for my late lolo who passed away. She was my first phone call, [then] obviously my parents, and [last was] my partner. That was it, no one else knew about it,” ani Robinson.
Mutya ng Pilipinas-Luzon Shannon Robinson/ARMIN P. ADINA
Inamin din niyang nadismaya siya nang nabigo siyang makasungkit ng koronang maghahatid sa kanya sa isang pandaigdigang patimpalak sa Mutya noong Disyembre. “If there was anyone who said ‘no’ she was not being truthful. I wasn’t focused on anyone else. But in my heart, I did everything I could to win a big title, to represent the country,” pag-amin ni Robinson.
Sa gulang na 28 taon, dama niyang huling pagkakataon na niya iyon. “It’s now or never. I wanted not to beat my mom, but I wanted to get it for her,” pagpapatuloy niya. Ina niya si 1989 Mutya ng Pilipinas first runner-up Raquel Mababangloob.
At ngayong kakaharapin na niya ang pinakamalaking hamon ng buhay niya, sinabi ni Robinson na, “I’m spending the two months being super healthy, exercising as much as I can. I’m training very hard with Aces and Queens on my walk, question-and-answer, and personality development. I just want to show you who I am in an authentic way, as well as someone who takes this seriously, who works to get better.”
Lumipad pa mula India ang pangulo ng pandaigdigang patimpalak, si Rushikesh Mirajkar, upang personal na saksihan ang paghirang ng Mutya kay Robinson bilang kinatawan ng Pilipinas. At ibinahagi ng reyna na tila nasagap niya mula sa opisyal na naghahanap siya ng “someone that’s hopefully a little bit unique in her story, who really does advocate for good, and who wants to win for the right reasons in bringing light to the environment, no matter whichever they or myself chooses for our advocacies, whether its emotional or about the Earth.”
Nangako si Robinson na magiging “super hard working” kung masusungkit ang pandaigdigang korona. “I will say yes to every opportunity that can benefit anybody, whether it’s our country, India, wherever it may take us.” Nakatakda siyang lumipad bago magtapos ang Mayo para sa patimpalak na itatanghal sa Hunyo 11.