Herlene Budol’s bright future
AS (traumatic) fate would have it, Herlene Budol — the country’s official representative to the second edition of Miss Planet International to be held supposedly this November 19 — withdrew from the pageant.
This came after Herlene’s manager Wilbert Tolentino posted on social media on the night of November 11 his decision to pull out his ward following unresolved issues.
Wilbert also cited Ugandan government’s lack of support although he earlier expressed understanding since it was the East African republic’s first time ever to host an international pageant.
I — together with the millions of pageant enthusiasts — would have wished Herlene the best of luck.
It is because of this pageant that Herlene had to ask her home studio’s consent to prepare for the competition, thus setting aside further taping for her first ever lead role in “Magandang Dilag” (reportedly, scenes which were shot during the first taping day had to be thrashed as the GMA bosses weren’t happy about Herlene’s prosthetics).
In the teleserye-inspired by the song of the same title, Herlene gets to be “crowned” with two leading men — Benjanin Alves and newbie Rob Gomez.
It took GMA quite a while to look for Herlene’s screen partners because of her towering height.
Word has it that the comedienne-turned-beauty queen gets to do drama in Magandang Dilag.
In case you didn’t know, Herlene is good at it having watched her play best friend to a cancer victim in an afternoon GMA series months ago.
Who I thought was just a funny girl could do much more! Shedding copious tears in emotionally charged scenes? Simply a walk in the park!
I would say that for a newbie like Herlene, she’s lucky to be pampered by her studio.
Aside from getting two leading men, Herlene gets support from veteran actresses Sandy Andolong and Chanda Romero.
Never to be ignored is the special participation of Sandy’s real-life partner Christopher de Leon, fresh from the mammoth success of “Lolong.”
And as though these cast members were not behind Herlene in full force, there are also fellow beauty queens themselves — Maxine Medina and Bianca Manalo.
To play the contravida — as she did in “First Lady” to title roler Sanya Lopez — is Maxine as Blaire (a popular celebrity stylist and fashion designer) while it’s Bianca’s first ever show on GMA.
But let’s reserve the excitement over this until its air-ing day.
"Sayang“would be appropriate to express
Herlene’s withdrawal from the
MPI. Earlier, she said she would need an interpreter. But she would only avail one if she reached the Q& A portion during the preliminaries, when the semi-finalists would have been called at the very least.
But that would sure be a cinch for Herlene.
I am just wondering how she’ll be able to acquit herself given a more thought-provoking question without a generic answer to it.
You see, even in gay pageants, the unknowing candidates have a smart way of churning out broad, roundabout — oftentimes contrived —answers.
And what about Herlene’s chances at the pasarela? Her stint with the Binibining Pilipinas — that gave her the first runner-up title — must have taught her the trick.
Not to mention her manager Wilbert Tolentino’s pageant experience (in the Mr. Gay World Philippines in 2009) itself.
Well, wouldn’t all this add up to landing a winning spot?
But all this sadly burst our collective bubble!
GUESS WHO?
This still-lovely sexagenarian actress is every gossip columnist’s favorite interviewee. Not only is she an engaging subject, she is also a rich source of juicy stuff involving her peers. She has one condition though in exchange for sharing stories about her colleagues, "Basta huwag n’yo lang ako ikoquote or else ide-deny ko talaga na sa akin nanggaling, yung tsismis!“What the ageless actress fails to realize is that she is an interesting blind item subject herself. Many times over, she has been involved in moneyrelated issues specifically failure to settle her obligations. Clue: she appears in a regular show, the title of which partly describes her.