NAKAKALOKA ang mga naganap sa 2020 Miss Universe Philippines kung saan nakuha ni Miss Iloilo Rabiya Mateo ang korona. Imbes na ipagdiwanag ang ganda ng mga Pinay ay tila napapangit ito ng mga isyung kinasasangkutan ng mga kalahok na beauty queens. Mahigit isang linggo na ang nakararaan pero hindi pa rin maka-move on ang mga tao!
Isa ang 2nd Runner Up na si Michele Gumabao from Quezon City sa mga kalahok na na-bash ng todo sa social media. Once and for all ay nagsalita na ang dalaga sa pamamagitan ng sariling vlog channel kung saan nilinaw niya ang mga intrigang ipinupukol sa kanya.
“I didn’t mind them. I chose to have fun. In the early morning of the 25th, at around 3 a.m., I heard things that I wasn’t supposed to hear, and it hurt.”
“I went back to my room and I cried so hard. I wanted to be by myself, and all these questions just came back to my head—everything that I’ve been hearing for the past few days just came rushing in my head, and I was heartbroken, I was devastated.”
Hindi niya binunyag kung ano ang kanyang narinig, pero tinawagan niya ang kanyang pamilya at sinabing gusto na niyang umuwi.
“They told me to think about it, that whatever I would decide they would support me 100% and they told me to pray.”
Noong sumunod na araw ay naglagay na ito ng kanyang makeup, nagbihis at sinamahan ang mga kapwa kalahok habang ipinapakita ang Top 16 candidates na nakasuot ng kanilang long gown.
“I knew that (it wouldn’t take long), we would crown the winner and everything would be over, and I would be able to go home. I told myself to smile for the cameras. And I did that. I greeted everyone. News of the winner had already leaked online.”
Naunang natapos ang live stream kumpara sa TV dahil sa mga commercial load gaps.
“And so many people came to me, hugging me, and a lot of tears… so many questions of why, how, what were overwhelming me too much. After knowing what I knew in the past few days, everything just came crashing down on me and I couldn’t handle it. I knew I was gonna break down and cry, and I didn’t want to do that in front of the cameras.”
Mismong ang Host na si KC Montero ang nagbunyag sa Twitter na nag-shoot sila ng limang pre-taped finale at na-leak ang mga larawan bago pa ang livestream at telecast. In short, lahat ng nasa Top 5 ay nagkaroon ng
tsansa na makoronohan at ang ipinalabas ay ang napiling reyna.
Patuloy nito, “They tried so hard to get a breakdown off of me in the past and it never worked.”
Hindi niya binaggit kung sino ang mga taong nagpipilit na ibaba siya. Sinabi rin niya na may mga tao sa production na nagpahirap sa kanya kaya gusto na niyang umuwi. Sinabihan siya na dapat ay tapusin muna ang panonood ng mula sa TV feed (naunang natapos ang live stream ng 30 minutes ahead).
“They told me they had to take a picture (of the winners), and I said, ‘Can we just do it now?’ They said they couldn’t. I said I’m sorry, I have to leave. And I left.”
Dahil dito, may mga netizens na tinawag siyang ‘bitter’ at inakalang siya’y nag-walkout.
“It was time to put myself first. I went to my room and got my bags. I sent a message to mama Jonas Gaffud (pageant mentor) and I told him my reason. He said okay, but was worried about what social media and what everybody would think. I told him to not worry, I would handle everything.
“I sent a message to our winner, and I congratulated her, and I told her the reason I was leaving. And she replied. ‘Thank you.’
“I thought everything was okay, I did my job, I did what I knew was right. On my way home, I was exhausted and I passed out in the car and I was just asleep the whole ride.”
Pagkauwi niya ay sinabi sa kanya ng kanyang pamilya ang mga nangyayari online. “Everything was just so toxic and I couldn’t believe it. I was not hurt. I was not angry. But I was sad.”
“The organization knew why, they knew my reasons, they knew I left, but they never said anything. They kept quiet and now so many stories are circulating, so many issues. I told myself I have to speak up, I have to defend myself because I knew nobody would.
“I hope that in the future, it would be a different experience for future girls, future queens and candidates who dream of becoming the next representative of our country.”
Tinapos ni Michele ang kanyang vlog in a hopeful note. “We’re all going to support the person, the organization that we need to support as one country, as one Philippines.”
Napansin naman ng mga tao na ni minsan ay hindi binanggit ni Michele ang pangalan ng ‘winner’ na si Rabiya Mateo.
