Bb. Pilipinas first runner-up Katrina Anne Johnson/ARMIN P. ADINA
SINABI ni Katrina Anne Johnson na inihahandog niya ang pagiging first runner-up niya sa 2023 Binibining Pilipinas pageant sa yumaong inang si Melody, na nangarap dating makasali sa pambansang patimpalak noong dalaga pa.
“This really is not just my journey, but my mom’s journey. She really wasn’t able to be a Binibini, and she wanted to be. And life just didn’t have that in the cards for her,” sinabi ni Johnson sa Inquirer nang makapanayam ng mga kawani ng midya ang mga nagwagi sa Bb. Pilipinas pageant sa Owner’s Circle sa Araneta City sa Quezon City dalawang araw makaraan silang makoronahan.
“I’m really thankful because my parents were always very supportive of whatever I wanted to do. And, unfortunately, my mom passed so she wasn’t able to see me fulfill the dream that we both had. But I knew that if I was gonna do this, then I wanted to make sure that she was incorporated in it,” pagpapatuloy niya.
Upang maisama ang ina sa paglalakbay niya, nag-isip si Johnson ng isang sagisag na makapagpapaalala sa kanya ng nanay niya. “She told me just before she passed that she would come back to me as a butterfly. So I’ve always had a butterfly…I don’t care if people don’t necessarily know. I knew, and that was what was important to me. knowing that she was there,” ipinaliwanag niya.
Para sa national costume show, inirampa niya ang costume na halaw sa waling-waling na paboritong bulaklak ng kaniyang ina. May disenyo namang halaw sa pakpak ng paro-paro sa final evening gown niya. Nagpinta rin siya ng mga paro-paro sa mga upcycled na damit na ginamit niya sa ilan sa mga pagtitipon. “Every OOTD (outfit of the day), I’ve really put a lot of thought into it even if it doesn’t seem like it,” ani Johnson.
Sinabi niyang batid niyang hindi makukuha ng lahat ng tao ang kahulugan sa likod ng mga isinusuot niya. “But if they had that image of me, if they saw me in that purple ‘filipiniana’ with a butterfly, at least they knew that purple is my favorite color and the butterfly’s for my mom. And I would be content knowing that there was a deep part of me that was shared even if they didn’t necessarily know. So I’ve been really happy with the journey so far,” ibinahagi ni Johnson.
Ngunit hindi ang 2023 Bb. Pilipinas pageant ang una niyang pambansang patimpalak. Sumali siya at nagwagi sa 2016 Miss Silka contest na itinanghal sa Maynila. Siya rin ang kauna-unahang nanalo mula sa Mindanao, at kapiling pa niya noon ang kaniyang ina upang maibahagi ang galak ng pagwawagi.
Sa panahong iyon din nabuo ang pangarap na makatuntong siya sa entablado ng Bb. Pilipinas pageant balang araw. Ngunit tumagal nang pitong taon, at makaraang pumanaw na ang kaniyang ina, bago ito natupad. Sinabi ni Johnson na matagal pa siyang nagmuni-muni kung kailan ang “perfect time” ng pagsali.
Si 2018 Bb. Pilipinas Supranational Jehza Huelar-Simon ang pumilit sa kanya. “She was really kind of hyping me up. She’s like ‘there’s no time like the present. If you keep waiting for the perfect time, time is gonna pass you by.’ I was like, yeah, you know what, I’ll pray about it,” ibinahagi ni Johnson.
Sa 25 taong gulang, malapit na si Johnson sa maximum age limit ng maraming pageants. Kaya binuo niya ang team niya, ang mismong team na kasama niya sa Miss Silka, upang bumalangkas ng istratehiya. “I didn’t have as much time and resources as I would have liked for sure. But I really wanted to make sure that I had a very personal touch on every aspect,” aniya.
Nakapasa siya sa screening, at kalaunan nga ay nagtapos bilang first runner-up sa hanay ng 40 kalahok. Ngunit bilang runner-up, nanghinayang ba siya na muntik na siyang magkatitulo? “I used to think that as well. I know that I’ve heard other queens talk about ‘first runner up is the most painful because you’re almost there but you weren’t quite good enough.’ Truthfully, I mean this with all my heart, I haven’t felt that way at all. I just remember I prayed and I literally [stretched my arms out] and I said I surrender everything. I was like, ‘just give it to the girl that’s the most deserving, we want someone who’s gonna represent our country.’ I’m not going to be selfish and say ‘no, make me that girl’ if I’m not actually the one who’s fit for the crown,” ibinahagi ni Johnson.
Ngunit hindi naman niya isinasara ang pintuan para sa muling pagsali sa Bb. Pilipinas. Hindi man niya kinukumpirmang sasabak siyang muli, nilinaw naman niyang hindi pa niya iniisip na tapos na ang paglalakbay niya sa mundo ng pageantry.
Kasama ni Johnson sa mga nagwagi sa kumpetisyong itinanghal sa Smart Araneta Coliseum sa Araneta City noong Mayo 28 ang kapwa niya runner-up na si Atasha Reign Parani, si Bb. Pilipinas International Angelica Lopez, at si Bb. Pilipinas Globe Anna Valencia Lakrini.