By RALPH JOHN MIJARES
ROXAS City — They played a losing game.
Three defeated Mutya ng Pilipinas candidates from Capiz demanded from the organizers a written apology and a stress debriefing after finding out that they fell short of the height requirement but were admitted nevertheless.
They said they would rather that they were disqualified even before the competition started.
Marla May Baes, Jarizze Aimee Lyn Alayon, and Princess Anne Floro — all 19 years old — were among the five candidates who stood only about 5 feet and 4 inches. Candidates must be 5 feet and 5 inches tall.
Ten candidates participated in the provincial level of the pageant.
Alayon said Jean Benedicto, the pageant directress, disclosed to them during a dinner after the coronation night on June 28 that only half of the contestants qualified in terms of height.
The candidates’ height was measured twice: by the Capiz level organizers and by Manila organizers.
Ronald So, one of the organizers, explained to the candidates that a metal rollup tape measure must be used, Floro said in a press conference Tuesday.
Organizers in Manila, however, made the candidates stand against a wall and used a plastic tape measure, Alayon said.
The defeated candidates lamented that they had to make sacrifices, hoping to be judged fairly in their quest for the Mutya crown, only to find out that they were technically disqualified in the first place.
Alayon and Floro said they had to miss classes just to attend to preparations and face challenges leading to the coronation night. Baes said they had to go around the province for the pageant activities.
Floro said her singing gigs took a backseat for a while.
Alayon said their discovery had affected her mother’s health. “Her blood pressure shot up,” she said. Baes, on the other hand, said she felt bad for her parents who shouldered her expenses during the competition.
Renalyn Arinque was declared Mutya ng Pilipinas–Capiz and will represent Capiz in the Mutya ng Pilipinas pageant next month, while Mary Angelit Odicta was declared first runner-up and Phoebe Barbasa, second runner-up.
Benedicto, who was currently in Manila, told Panay News in a text message that the pageant organizers will release a press statement “as soon as possible.”
The organizers and the defeated candidates, together with their parents/relatives, met at a local restaurant. The organizers agreed to give them a written apology and a stress debriefing./PN
