Herlene Nicole Budol

 Hipon Girl highly emotional during orphans' day activity

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

 Binibining Pilipinas 2022 entrant Nicole Budol was emotional and visibly shaken during the candidates' activity at the newly-opened Araneta Fiesta Park recently. The official candidates treated orphaned kids from the Diocese of Novaliches to an afternoon of fun playing arcade/carnival games.

While the other candidates brought the kids around the outdoor gaming spots, Nicole "Hipon Girl" Budol was sobbing in one of the game booths. When asked why she was crying, she told members of the organizing team that she suddenly remembered her grandmother, Nanay Bering, who succumbed to renal failure a few days before the event.

When she saw the kids alight from the bus and join their 'big sisters' for the afternoon,

Nicole just couldn't help her eyes swell with tears. Her rogue was streaked from crying that she had to remove them, leaving a little eye shadow and slight lip color on her face. Members from the organizing team suggested she wear a mask to conceal her lack of makeup. Yet despite her outburst, the svelte candidate from Antipolo still led her "wards" around the game booths.

"Kahit komedyante para sa iba, ako'y may pinagdadaanang malungkot," was her reply when asked what people don't know about her.

Her only plea that afternoon was that she won't be asked questions about her deceased grandmother.

So we asked her instead if she would push through with her intention of using an interpreter during the final show interview. "Walang kasama kung sasagot ako ng Tagalog. Deserve ng mga tao na maiintindihan ang lahat ng mga sinasabi ko."

In fact, if she will be fortunate to win the national Grand International crown that she has set her sights on, she still intends to answer the interview at the finals in Indonesia in her native tongue.

While her Q&A trainings are conducted in both English and Tagalog, she says she is most comfortable expressing herself in her lingua franca.

If she pushes through with this, she would be one of the few Binibini aspirants who would answer the interview questions in her native tongue. Since the inception of the Binibining Pilipinas pageant in 1964, English has been the preferred medium of communication.

The Binibining Pilipinas 2022 grand coronation nights will unfold on July 31 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Stay tuned!