The country’s representative to the Miss Universe 2016 beauty pageant has said that she was hurt by bashers who criticize her weakness in public speaking.
“I’m not into speaking talaga since nag-start ako sa modelling. Ang kinakatakutan ko lang talaga sa pageant is ’yung magsalita in front of the people,” said Miss Universe Philippines 2016 Maria Mika Maxine P. Medina, during an interview in “The Bottomline With Boy Abunda” aired over ABS-CBN recently.
Medina, 24, said that her followers on Instagram shot from 8,000 to 100,000 after she won the Binibining Pilipinas contest last April 17. But she was expecting that many of those followers were bashers. “I was expecting na punong-puno s’ya ng bashing about the coronation.”
Though she trained for the beauty contest, the former fashion model admitted that the question-and-answer portion of the pageant was her soft spot.
“After the question-and-answer portion, I felt bad, I know na kaya ko pang i-expand ‘yun pero na blank out na ako. During my training, sabi sa akin na kapag nakaisip ka ng word at na-black out ka, ituloy mo pa rin at dapat tapusin mo,” Medina said.
Medina recalled in December when she and her boyfriend actor-model Marx Topacio raved about the victory of their friend Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach who was crowned Miss Universe 2015.
“Sabi ko kawawa naman ‘yung susunod na panlaban ng Pilipinas sa Miss Universe. Kasi ang galing-galing ni Pia. ‘Yun pala ako ’yun,” she said.
“But I’m willing to work hard just like when I’m in school and modelling. I think I have a purpose,” the beauty queen from Quezon City added.
Medina took up Interior Design at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde and the Philippine School of Interior Design where she later graduated. She was about to take the board exams for interior design in 2015 when she decided to give the Binibining Pilipinas beauty contest a second shot.
In 2012, she was named as one of the official candidates for the same pageant but she was disqualified due to her existing contracts for print and TV commercials.
“I’m a senior member of the Professional Models Association of the Philippines or PMAP. As you age you get fewer offers as a model. Clients also choose the younger ones because their modelling rate is not that high. It’s not a stable job so I decided to choose between board exams and Binibi-ning Pilipinas,” she said.
With only one name left in the envelope that contained the list of winners of Binibining Pilipinas contest, Medina thought of Binibini No. 27 Dindi Joy Pajares as the ultimate winner.
Medina said that she is thankful to Binibining Pilipinas which she believes will help her achieve her first P1 million at the age of 25. She turns 25 on May 10.
“My goal is that I should have my first R1 million when I reach the age of 25. I also dream of buying my own home for my family. When I was 23 and then 24, I thought I won’t be able to reach my goal. But with Binibini, I will finally achieve it,” Medina said.