Miss Toledo 2023 and Miss Universe Philippines 2024 contestant Kim Placibe expressed her grievance after the organizers of Miss Toledo 2024 reportedly canceled her farewell speech at the last minute of the event.
In his Facebook post, Kim called the incident “insulting” and even claimed that the organizers tried to control the things she must said during the event.
“I truly deserve better than that. I was already called ‘ungrateful’ by someone from the organization,” she said.
She believed that the decision of the organizers was influenced by the local politics in her area.
In a statement, Binibining Toledo admitted that Placibe was only informed about her possible speech a few hours before the show.
Because of the time constraints, the organizers decided not to push the farewell speech.
“Given her experience in the pageant arena, she understands the necessity of technical rehearsals for all stage proceedings, and it’s expected that she understands why her speech was not included in the program,” the organization wrote.
They also clarified that local officials were tasked to lead the coronation of winners instead of the reigning queens, which was far from the traditional practice of international and local pageants.
“This should not be a point of contention, as it has been an annual practice. The coronation of winners is a moment for the new queens and the new Binibining Toledo, and nobody should steal this moment from them, not even the previous queens, including Miss Placibe,” they said.
