Wilbert Tolentino announces his plans for Herlene to join Miss Grand Philippines
After Miss Planet International, will Herlene Budol join another pageant? This is what celebrity manager Wilbert Tolentino is hoping for. In an interview with Boy Abunda, Wilbert provided more details about what happened during the pageant as well as Herlene’s possible bid for a new crown.
“What happened in Uganda?”
As we already know, Miss Planet International was set to take place in Uganda. However, a few days into the competition, the pageant was postponed. With both the candidates and the organization addressing their sides of the situation, Wilbert shares his perspective on what transpired.
Maraming candidates ang hindi aware na magkakaroon ng yellow fever vaccine. So, ang pagkakaintindi [nila], pagdating sa Uganda, doon pa lang sila iva-vaccine. So ang period pala dun ay 10 days. So, maraming hindi nakapasok, almost half and mapapansin ninyo sa Miss Planet, usually mga Africans ang mga maraming [lumahok]. Kasi sila mismo, required silang may yellow [fever] vaccine.
Furthermore, an Ebola outbreak would then develop throughout the country. As a result, the pageant’s official hotel, Speke Resort, opted to withdraw, leaving the contestants—including Herlene—in the dark.
So, during that time, si Speke Resort, nag back out po sila dahil may biglang outbreak ng ebola virus. So, kami naman on our part naman, siguro hindi nila ma-handle yung situation nung Ugandan partner nila, binalita sa akin ni Herlene na wala silang food, wala silang accommodations.
With no concrete plans to resolve the problem at the time, Wilbert ultimately pulls Herlene out of the pageant.
Along with him, Wilbert also had about fifty people as part of the Philippine entourage. With the flight and accommodation all paid for by him, Wilbert admits having spent about a million pesos.
Ang masaklap ay nung pumunta yung next batch [of the entourage] po kasi isasakto namin yung coronation night, dun po na-cancel pero nabook na yung ticket so, pinatuloy ko na lang. What we did is pinasyal na lang namin sila
Despite investing so much in the pageant, Wilbert still believes that everything was worth every penny. He explains that by giving Herlene the chance to represent the country, her story continues to give inspiration to many. Teaching those textbooks beauty queens can still have imperfections and that doesn’t hinder their chances of winning.
“What’s going to happen now?”
When asked about his next goal, Wilbert shares that he wants Herlene to give pageants another try. Through Miss Grand Philippines in particular, he believes that she is a perfect fit for the pageant.
Ako, I’m planning na isali siya sa Miss Grand [Philippines]. kasi nakikita ko dun siya nagf-fit. I don’t see anything wrong na i-try niya ulit.
It’s important to note that during her participation at Binibining Pilipinas 2021, Herlene was very vocal in targeting the Miss Grand title. With many people expecting her to snag the crown, she eventually placed first runner-up.
Wilbert himself had the opportunity to meet MGI president Nawat Itsaragrisil during the latter’s short trip to the country.
Meanwhile, Herlene gets a call from Nawat, wishing her luck for her upcoming competition. She quickly took to social media to post this intriguing encounter which generated a lot of interest from the fans.
Starting next year, Miss Grand Philippines will be venturing into its own stand-alone competition. According to Wilbert, he had already asked Herlene to which she responded by saying that she’ll be thinking about it.
A few days ago, Herlene uploaded a photo of her during Binibining Pilipinas along with a cryptic caption that reads, “The End.” Regardless of what her decision will be, we believe that she already has a bright future ahead of her.
To watch the full interview, you can check it out here.
