In spite of the raging controversy, Gloria Diaz, the country’s first Miss Universe winner, remains unfazed—and as gregarious as ever.
For her pronouncements on the ABS-CBN newscast TV Patrol, she was put to task by some Cebuano politicians who want her to apologize for allegedly denigrating their province mates. Some even planned to declare her a “persona non grata.”
The politicians got upset because she had said that beauty contestants should speak Cebuano if they were not comfortable speaking in English or Filipino.
She explains that she had no intention of demeaning Cebuanos in that interview.
“I merely wanted to reiterate that there are different dialects in the country,” she said. “What I meant was that contestants should speak in whatever language or dialect they are comfortable in, whether it’s Cebuano, Kapampangan, Ilocano or Tagalog... so that they could speak from the heart.”
The intrigue taught her to be open-minded. “I’ve realized the importance of opening your heart. I’ve learned that people can misinterpret you... That’s why you should always give everyone the benefit of the doubt.”
Including the politicians who’ve reacted vehemently against her?
“Yah. I myself am sometimes guilty of jumping to conclusions,” she confesses. “I’m always in a hurry.”
It’s not the first time she got in trouble for her public utterances, though.
When she was newly crowned as Miss Universe 1969, she stirred a hornet’s nest for saying that she didn’t speak Tagalog.
“But that was the truth. Again, it needed to be interpreted properly,” she explains. “I said that in all innocence, too. But after that incident I really went out of my way to learn Filipino.”
On hindsight, she now thinks it was a major, major mistake.
“It was unacceptable for me to say that because my aunt, Paraluman Aspillera, was the daughter of Lope K. Santos, father of the National Language and Grammar. She was a writer, too.”
It was not the first time the Miss Universe was misquoted, too. She says there are different versions of her famous answer at the pageant. The question: What would she do if a man from the moon paid her a visit at home?
“A friend claimed that I said I would offer buko juice to the alien visitor. Where did that come from? All I meant was that I’d just go about my daily life,” she quips.
Manager Leo Dominguez said they had to cancel a scheduled trip to Cebu. “But she pushed through with her Davao visit,” says her manager.
Cebu politicians have also invited her to attend an inquiry to “shed light on the matter,” but her manager decided that she would just send a statement.
Gloria would rather focus on acting, like her recent role on the Kapamilya drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya, directed by Jeffrey Jeturian. “I played a funeral parlor owner. I love offbeat roles,” she says.