At first, the Binibining Pilipinas World Janina San Miguel’s mess-up was amusing and frustrating at the same time. Amusing because one can just imagine how many ways a Filipino can chop up, re-arrange and bastardize the english language. Frustrating because at the very back of our minds there’s this nagging thought that, “this is the girl that’s going to represent us in October?!”
I told myself that I’d just keep quiet on the issue since it’s none of my business anyway, that I won’t ride on the ongoing blogging trend of Janina bashers. But wow, after reading so many blog entries and listening to some reactions (in real life and in national television), I can’t help but be annoyed at what Filipinos think of Filipinos. Ergo, what Filipinos think of themselves.
Let’s face it, though people say that we are the best english-speaking country in Asia, an average Filipino’s english is sub-par with regards to international standards. Go out in the streets of Quezon City and you try speaking english with everyday folk out there to see what I mean.
And somehow, it hurts my pride as a Filipino. I mean, just because a person can’t speak english that well, that person is labeled stupid and undeserving. So you mean to say an average Filipino is just plain stupid? It’s not their fault that most Filipinos don’t have access to quality english education.
After watching Ruffa Guttierez’s statement on TV Patrol, I can’t help but be irritated. By the way she spoke, she was implying that Janina was “not intelligent.” She kept on stressing that a person’s beauty inside was just as important as a person’s beauty outside. So does that mean that Janina, or simply, a person who does not speak english that well is not beautiful inside? Come on!
And Ruffa continues on rambling and saying that Janina has seven months to practice her Q&A skills and to improve on her english. I flared a bit while listening to her, and can’t help but think how elitist that remark was.
Anyways. Enough with the blood boiling. What’s done is done, and what has been said, has been said. And as much as people want to take back her title, we can’t do anything anymore. It’s done, she’s our representative, she’s going to Ukraine this October.
But for me, I don’t think she needs to study english. If I were her, I’d stand-up proud as a Filipino, and speak the language that I truly speak. And, I’ll get a wicked translator. ;)
March 13th, 2008 at 8:31 am
amen!!! akala ko ako lang nakakaramdam ng ganun…
March 13th, 2008 at 8:47 am
right on. i hope she does get a translator for the ms world pageant. (tama ba, ms world?) that’d be awesome man, it’s like confirming that we haven’t lost our identity as filipinos. may mga mas bihasa pa rin sa Filipino kesa sa English. astig! haha
March 13th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
i think it’s also her fault that she was already told that she could speak in filipino if she wanted to, but she still chose to speak in english, given that she was already messing up. i agree that she should get a translator for ms world, especially with the deluge of blogs and conversations that are against her. had she taken the advice of the host who wanted to help her express her answer clearly, then she wouldn’t be as hated/laughed at by the filipinos. may kasalanan din sha.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Dhey: Amen!
Tricia: Yeap, Miss World. :) At kung nagtranslator man siya, kung bobo pa rin yung sagot niya, pwede ayusin ng translator! Wahahaha.
Pauline: Yeap, kasalanan din niya na nag-feeling siya magpaka-”I said that I was confident” sa english niya.
Anyways, sinabi ng host na pwede siya mag-Filipino? Edi dapat nga nag-Filipino na lang siya! Oh well. tapos na eh
March 22nd, 2008 at 7:18 pm
In international beauty pageants, we’re supposed to send the best Filipinas to represent us. And with what happened, it shows for me Janina is definitely not the best person to represent what the Filipina has to offer.
English is ONE of our official languages. Now I don’t know how that happened, haha, and that’s another story. So not answering in English in international beauty pageants is a no-no for me. But neither does it mean we’ve lost our identity or we don’t give importance to our language. For me, in international contests like beauty pageants, being able to communicate with as many people from other countries is what’s more important — and being able to decently speak in English accomplishes just that. Having said that, if you’d ask me kung ok lang ba na mag-Filipino si Janina sa Bb Pilipinas, my answer would be ‘yes’. Nasa Pilipinas naman siya eh, maiintindihan siya ng mga Pilipino. Malas nga lang halos foreign diplomats ang judges, hehe.
Ako personally, it’s not even her grammatical errors that turned me off. It’s her overall attitude talaga — lalu na yung nag-offer na lang siya ng excuse na kesyo 17 pa lang siya kaya dapat pagpasensyahan na lang natin siya. Palusut pa eh.
And I think the more serious issue here is not Janina’s bloopers — because every year, may kinakabahan talaga at pumapalpal — it’s the fact that despite the serious blunder, the judges chose her as the winner.
March 23rd, 2008 at 12:25 am
Rex: I still cringe whenever I think that it would be her representing our country (kung pipilitin pa rin niyang mag-english, at kung ganun talaga siya ka-bobo sumagot). And no, I’m not defending Janina in this entry of mine. Nagrereklamo lang ako sa treatment ng mga Filipino sa kapwa Filipino na hindi marunong mag-english. But if Janina can prove that she’s really intelligent, then I’m all for her (but watching her vid again with all the excuses about being seventeen and all, hmmm, napapaisip ako ulit).
Anyways, I still stand firm in my belief that Filipinos are losing their, err, our national identity. Kasi tingnan mo, kung tatanungin ang isang Filipino kung ano ang mas gusto niyang gamiting wika, mas gusto nila yung iba kaysa sa sariling wika (at isang malaking kabalintunaan lang kasi sa pagsulat ko rito mismo napapa-english ako).