WILBERT Tolentino, current head of Mr. Gay World Philippines, is confident Janjep Carlos, this year’s representative to the Mr. Gay World pageant to be held April 28 to May 4 in Cape Town, South Africa, will bring home the crown.
“As long as he puts in the work, the preparations necessary, and with the help of God, sa kanya na ‘yun eh,” Tolentino shared to media during the send-off for Carlos held Tuesday.
Tolentino has a knack foreseeing future events. He, in fact, predicted the quake that affected most of Luzon, Monday, even taking to social media to warn people about it. Still, he’d rather not predict Carlos’ chances.
“Mahirap mag-predict,” Tolentino said. “Pero ‘yun nga, si Janjep naman has the looks, the talent so, confident ako sa kanyang ability na makuha ang korona.”
Carlos on his part promised to keep his focus.
“I will work hard and do my best to make the country proud,” he said. “Actually, ang laki ng pressure sa akin but I’m hoping with my all heart that my effort will pay off in the end.”
He is currently training under Kagandahang Flores.
Carlos bagged the chance to represent the country at the Mr. Gay World pageant winning the Mr. Fahrenheit search.
He bested 17 other aspirants for the title.
“Doon pa lang pinakita ko na ‘yung effort ko na manalo, I will do better para sa Mr. Gay World pageant,” Carlos maintained.
The 41-year-old entrepreneur is joining the Mr. Gay World tilt eager to make a mark.
“Gusto ko rin kasi makatulong sa LGBTQI community, gusto kong maging boses nila,” he quipped.
If he wins, Carlos, who sells beauty products for a living, wants to highlight mental health issues hounding some members of the LGBTQI community.
“Ito ‘yung tungkol sa emotional suffering na dinaranas ng ilan sa atin because of discrimination and bullying,” he said. “I want to raise awareness concerning this because I believe it really is getting worse. Marami nang tao ang dumaranas ng depression dahil sa mga ito.”
Tolentino is positive this will be a boon to Carlos’ Mr. Gay World aspirations.
He said, “Kasi ang mission ng Mr. Gay World is to ‘modernize’ the image of gay men and eradicate stereotypes from public perception. Kasama na diyan ‘yung pakikipaglaban against sexual prejudice. Maganda ang adhikain ni Janjep kaya hopeful ang buong LGBTQI community sa kanyang panalo.” (NEIL RAMOS)
