- How the turn of events affected the career of MMDA spokesperson and assistant secretary Celine Pialago.
- Was she able to redeem herself from the trending interview when she competed on Ms. Earth Philippines 2014?
- Celine Pialago shared her working experiences after joining showbiz
One of the familiar faces that we’ve seen on TV since 2016 is the youngest MMDA spokesperson, Celine Pialago, who was eventually promoted as assistant secretary of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
She was one of the distinguished guests during the first anniversary of Skin Bureau held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza last Saturday, January 26. The brand recognized Celine’s contribution to women empowerment as MMDA spokesperson.
It was an opportunity to redeem herself from an embarrassing experience during the 14th edition of Ms. Earth Philippines in 2014. Back then, she used her real name Perilyn Pialagao and she represented Dalaguet, Cebu.
The said blooper is still in YouTube where Celine mistakenly said “she passed away” instead of “she passed out.”
“So, napatunayan ko yung kakayahan ko na magsalita,
English man o Tagalog. Yung isyu ng ‘she passed away,’ nabura na siya.
Dati ayoko siyang pag-usapan. Pero ngayon, kailangan para maging inspirasyon ako sa iba.”
This happened after her roommate, who was also a contender, passed out for not eating well so as to maintain a good figure in preparation for the pageant. The said video has gained comments from the netizens.
During an interview with PEP.ph, Celine reminisced over her experience and said: “Naging trahedya ang pagsali ko sa Miss Earth dahil ako yung nag-trending na instead of saying she passed out, ang nasabi ko she passed away.
“Noong time na yun, yung buddy [roommate] ko ang nag-pass out, so tinapatan na ako ng mga TV camera. Gusto ko siyang puntahan, stressed na ako. Ang gusto ko sanang sabihin noon, huwag kayong mag-diet kasi baka mamatay kayo. I was supposed to say that, pero hindi ko nasabi.”
She also added that the reporter just aired her blooper.
“Yun pa rin ang umere sa TV and I understand. Hindi ako na-trauma, pero nahirapan ako na i-redeem ang sarili ko at patunayan na hindi naman ako stupid. Nangyayari iyon na kahit mag-Tagalog ka, minsan nagkakamali ka ng words, but it doesn’t mean na ang bobo-bobo mo, na wala ka nang karapatan na mag-English.”
The said experience gained attention and gave her a showbiz opportunity. Because of the trending interview, Celine had appearances on ABS-CBN such as the ‘Super D’ show, with Bianca Manalo and Dominic Ochoa. She went back as a reporter after realizing that showbiz wasn’t meant for her.
She’s now our MMDA spokesperson under the Duterte administration.
