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A beauty queen’s “sensational” failure to answer a simple
question in straight English merely betrays the fading competency of
young Filipinos in the world’s lingua franca, Cebu Rep. Eduardo
Gullas said.
Gullas made the statement as YouTube videos of
Miss Philippines World Janina San Miguel’s gaffe during the
question-and-answer portion of the Binibining Pilipinas Beauty
Pageant continued to make the rounds of the Internet.
Gullas, an educator, said he found the video
“tormenting” to watch.
“The truth is, if Ms. San Miguel had been
Chinese, Japanese, Spanish or French, nobody would have cared about
her awkward English. People would have totally ignored it. They
would have excused her right away,” Gullas said.
“But she is Filipino, and English is our
highly favored second language. So people expected more from her,”
Gullas added.
Nonetheless, Gullas expressed confidence that
San Miguel has enough time to improve her English before the Miss
World pageant in November. “She will recover quickly, no doubt
about that. We wish her good luck,” he said.
Gullas is principal author of House Bill 305,
which seeks to reinforce the English skills of Filipinos by
reinstating the language as the medium of instruction in all school
levels. The bill has already been endorsed by 207 of the 240 members
of the House of the Representatives.
Gullas urges young Filipinos to master English,
or risk getting left behind in the race for high-paying jobs and
economic survival.
Meanwhile, the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority has already offered to help future beauty
pageant candidates express themselves better in English through a
free, 120-hour crash course.
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