Note: We are introducing a new category called Profiles. We will feature not only candidates but also photographers, stylists, makeup artists, and the other members of the creatives behind a candidate’s pageant journey
One of the Miss World Philippines 2021 candidates that caught everyone’s attention the past weeks is Pauline Robles from Laguna. Prior to the national pageant, Pauline competed in Binibining San Pablo, where she won.
Pauline, who is an RMT graduate from UST is set to return to medical school soon. As she and other candidates wait for the coronation night, we asked Pauline to answer 7 questions to get to know her more and she gamely answered them via email.
Qrown: When do you feel the most beautiful?
Pauline: I feel most beautiful when I’m surrounded by the people I trust and when I make them laugh. I’m a jolly and bubbly person, and I love spreading positive energy. For me, what’s more important is being remembered for who you really are. True beauty is about creating a positive impact on other people’s lives.
Qrown: What was the biggest insecurity you had to overcome before joining a beauty pageant?
Pauline: One of the biggest insecurities I had to overcome was my weight. But along my MWP journey, I have met amazing women who have shared two important lessons to me – how to love myself more and how to accept my flaws. Because the most important thing being in a beauty pageant is how you represent yourself, how you believe in yourself, and how you use yourself as an instrument of action and passion towards other people. And true appreciation of one’s self starts with acceptance that our imperfections make us uniquely beautiful.
Qrown: You joined a provincial pageant before the nationals. How does a provincial or city pageant prepare a girl once she makes a decision to join a national contest?
Pauline: I started training at Kagandahang Flores camp last April. And the training process was really different and more difficult than training in a provincial pageant. I had to finish 12 rounds of duckwalks and other workouts. I had to practice countless pasarela and undergo Q&A training. I’ve learned that joining a national beauty pageant is not a piece of cake, it takes extreme perseverance and dedication. But overall, I’m thankful enough because this journey made me connect and know myself even more. And I think that’s what makes a beauty queen, it’s about finding and knowing yourself to the fullest.
Qrown: As someone in the medical profession in the time of a pandemic, how has this pushed you to be a better person?
Pauline: I’ve known people who suffered and died from COVID-19. This pandemic crisis really taught me how to be more responsible and more grateful. Responsible in a sense that I have to really wear a mask and observe a 6 feet distance when I’m outside my home because I don’t want my family to get sick. And thankful enough that God has protected me, my family, and my friends ever since. This pandemic has affected a lot of lives and I just wish that people start to take this crisis seriously because it’s not a joke.
This brought me to my advocacy which is ABC that aims to spread awareness and educate people about facts regarding proper health care that would be useful for them to prevent any communicable diseases and to educate the general public on where they can seek proper medical help from in times of medical crisis. COVID-19 and health care in general, are not to be taken for granted and we should all be responsible all the time.
Qrown: Women have faced so many challenges in the past years. How will you use your position as a medical practitioner and titleholder to promote women’s equality and causes close to your heart?
Pauline: This pandemic has further proved that women are capable of doing anything they desire. And as a medical practitioner and a titleholder, I want to promote women’s equality and causes close to mine by simply volunteering in our local government unit’s programs. My passion is to serve, I’m planning to volunteer at a COVID-19 vaccination center soon here in our city, I think that would be a big help to fasten the vaccination rollout, to protect more people from severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Through these simple acts, I want to inspire the young women out there that it takes one simple step to become the person you want to be. It is about time that we women, should defy the norms of how and where a woman should be. Because women are powerful and are all capable.
Qrown: Next year, the country will be voting for a new set of leaders. How have you been able to use your platform to encourage people to register to vote?
Pauline: As a first time voter and as a candidate of Miss World PH, I want to tell everyone that one vote makes a difference. The Philippines is a democratic country and we were given the right to choose the people who will lead us to become a better country. I just want to urge everyone to register to vote, it is a power that was given to us, we should use it wisely. It is about time for us to select people that are passionate about serving the Filipinos, the ones that we think are credible and are catalysts of progress and growth.
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