Gloria Diaz: I didn't say anything bad about Cebuanos
by Boy Villasanta
MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – Beauty queen-turned-actress Gloria Diaz reiterated her earlier stance that she did not say anything bad about Cebuanos.
“I didn’t say Cebuano is lowly or bobo. Why would I say that? I mean, I might be mataray but I wouldn’t say such a thing. I love the Philippines. I love my people. My boyfriend is a Visayan so why would I say that?” asked the loquacious beauty queen in an exclusive phone interview late Wednesday afternoon.
The actress, who suggested that Filipino beauty queens should get interpreters when competing in beauty pageants abroad, was quoted in her television interview as saying that a Cebuana can hardly speak English or Tagalog. Some Cebuanos perceived this statement as derogatory.
An online report said a resolution declaring her persona non grata has already been issued by The Vice Mayors League of The Philippines-Cebu.
But Diaz maintained that she never said Cebuanos cannot speak English.
“I didn’t say anything bad against Cebuanos. All I said was for the contestants to answer the question in the most comfortable language they could speak. Kung Ilocano, they speak in Ilocano. Kung Pampango, they speak in Pampango. Kung Bicolano, they speak in Bicolano. Kung Cebuano, they speak in Cebuano,” she added.
Diaz said her interview on TV was taken out of context.
“The interview with me was aired three consecutive days and if they didn’t catch them all they wouldn’t get the whole picture. And the way some of my sound bites were put together wasn’t exactly what I meant,” she exclaimed.
Diaz also questioned the resolution declaring her persona non grata. “And persona non grata refers to criminals, right? Have I done something wrong? I think I was just misinterpreted by Cebuanos.”
Diaz, 1969 Miss Universe, added: “I won’t go to Cebu until the Cebuanos, who misinterpreted what I said, apologize to me.”
Diaz said she raised the issue of language use in reference to beauty contests only. “Besides, the English we would want Venus Raj to use was not of the Parliament English. She was not applying for a writing job in English. She wasn’t there to be the paramount of a good English speaker."
Raj, Miss Universe 4th runner-up, was heavily criticized after her poor response to the pageant’s customary question-and-answer portion. Her response reportedly spoiled her chances to bring home the crown.
Diaz believed that the 22-year-old beauty from Camarines Sur could have expressed herself clearly if she had answered using a language she is most comfortable in. This prompted her to suggest getting interpreters for Filipinos competing in international beauty pageants.
Nonetheless, Diaz said Raj did great in Miss Universe 2010.
“Her English was good so why make a big fuss out of it? She gave a good answer,” she said. “I am very irrelevant about the issue.”
She also appealed to the country's leaders to be more relevant. “There are still more important things to tackle in this nation like the dengue issue, the Hong Kong sentiment about the hostage taking crisis, the economy. My God! I am very irrelevant.”