"Of course, it was a very difficult moment for me," pag-amin ni Paolo Bediones nang tanungin siya ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) kung ano ang naramdaman niya sa hindi pagkakasama ng kanyang girlfriend na si Abigail Cruz kahit man lang sa Top 10 semifinalists ng Binibining Pilipinas 2009.
Kung matatandaan, si Paolo ang nag-host ng naturang beauty pageant na ginanap noong March 7 sa Araneta Coliseum. Bilang host, si Paolo ang nagbasa ng listahan ng sampung kandidata na pumasok sa semifinals. Pero hindi nakita sa TV kung ano ang tunay na nararamdaman ni Paolo that time nang i-announce niya ang semifinalists at wala ang pangalan ni Abby, na naging 2nd runner-up sa Binibining Pilipinas 2007.
Ayon kay Paolo, kahit ganoon ang nangyari ay ginawa pa rin niya ang kanyang trabaho bilang host.
"But of course, you also have to bring it to that level wherein you are a professional and I have been doing this for so many years. And although there was an emotional attachment to one of the candidates, even if it was the hardest thing for me to do, I have to do my job.
"At the end of the day, proud na proud ako sa kanya. I know she gave her 112 percent. But there are some things in the pageant kasi, a lot of people tend to assume na lang, na either hindi siya nagustuhan ng judges that night, ganyan-ganyan," paliwanag ng TV host during his lunch break sa audition ng Survivor Philippines Season 2 kahapon, March 28, sa Banana Leaf restaurant sa The Block, SM North EDSA.
Nabanggit nga rin ni Paolo na bago pa man ang coronation night ng Binibining Pilipinas ay napili na ang sampung semifinalists. Ang pumili raw sa semifinalists ay hindi ang mga judge noong coronation night kundi ibang set ng judges, na kinabibilangan ng Binibining Pilipinas committee.
"Yun nga, e, there's a pre-judging element that is involved wherein in the pre-judging, if you're not part of the Top 10 of the pre-judges, then during the pageant night, even if you gave your all 125,000 percent, pour your heart and soul, nakalabas na yung atay, it doesn't matter because the 10 were chosen na by the pre-judges, and not by the judges who were there," pahayag ni Paolo.
Hinanap ba niya yung pangalan ni Abby nang iabot sa kanya ang envelope na naglalaman ng 10 semifinalists?
"Makikita mo naman, e. Isang ganun lang, makikita mo wala yung number niya, e. So, alam mo na, e."
Ano ang initial reaction niya nang makita niyang wala ang numero ni Abby?
"When the envelope was handed to me, I asked the person, 'Ito na ba 'yon?' Yeah, okay. I opened it. Rolling, okay, pak, game. I was able to prepare. I knew that whether she made it or not, I have to be prepared for it. My delivery of her number, if it was there, would be the same as everyone else. Or my delivery of everyone else's number, if she weren't there, would be the same," saad niya.
STILL PROUD OF ABBY. Nakapag-usap ba sila ni Abby pagkatapos ng pageant? Ano ang naramdaman ng kasintahan ni Paolo sa nangyari?
"Oh yeah," sagot ni Paolo. "We went out, we ate pa, and we talked a lot until the sun rose and everything. We processed everything."
Patuloy niya, "Siyempre, I felt bad but at the same time, I was really proud of her because she is the one who put together a lot of the girls who didn't make it either but everyone was expecting them to. I mean, they go out and everything. Last night they went out also. Parang she 's like the glue that keeps them together, encourages them, and inspires them to have a go on what they wanna do."
Hindi kaya ang dahilan ng hindi pagkakasama ni Abby sa semifinals ay dahil si Paolo ang host ng pageant?
"No, no, no... The reason is very simple. The pre-judges probably had a choice of their own already," diin ng 35-year-old host.
Would it be any different pag nakapasok si Abby at in-interview niya ang kasintahan sa Q&A portion?
"Again, it could have been the second level of a... Kumbaga sa challenges, that could have been the second level of challenges for me for that evening, kasi that's tough to do. To make it feel like you're impartial? At the same time, because you don't want to be impartial, you tend to give her less of what she deserves in terms of airtime, in terms of what... So, parang iisipin agad ng tao, 'Ay, tatagalan niya interview na 'to.' Parang ganun, di ba? Baka subconsciously, ako naman, iiksian ko. It would have been really tough. But I'm glad that it's over."
Personally, sang-ayon ba siya sa choices ng mga hurado?
"Obviously not," sabi ni Paolo. "But, may proseso kasi, e. Pag aware ka sa proseso, maiintindihan mo."
Will you host again next year?
"Well, if they still want me," medyo hesitant na sagot ni Paolo.
PAY IT FORWARD. Nabanggit ng PEP kay Paolo na patunay lamang ito na magaling siyang host dahil nagawa pa rin niyang maayos ang trabaho niya.
"I think it's more like experience carried me through," sabi niya. "Experience talaga. I mean, I have a lot to learn pa rin in terms of hosting. Although recently, I conducted workshop for hosting. Mga student ko 'yan, sila JC [Tiuseco], yung Ka-Blog na host, yung mga field reporters... We had 25 students, e, mga producers, those who want to become on-cam talent, mga existing talents who want to hone their skills."
Sinabi ni Paolo na ginawa niya ang naturang workshop "for free."
"I want to give back, so that was the chance. It was from 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. Sa GMA mismo, sa rehearsal studio. One session lang, 25 students, for the first batch.
"Marami pa akong dapat matutunan sa hosting. And the pageant night itself was something totally different," sabi ni Paolo.
Tinanong ng PEP si Paolo kung ano ang plano niya pagkatapos ng Survivor Philippines, at ito ang sinabi niya: "Survivor Philippines 3."
Beyond Survivor Philippines?
"For me, career-wise, I wanna focus on the teaching," sagot niya. "Kasi, di ba, after the session, people really learn something? Na after the session, you can really go out and host."
Bukod sa pagiging abala sa audition ng Survivor Philippines ay bumalik na rin si Paolo sa paghu-host ng daily morning show na Unang Hirit.