Herlene Nicole 'Hipon' Budol has withdrawn from the Miss Planet International pageant due to "uncertainties by the organizers," her manager confirmed on Friday.
"Due to uncertainties by the organizers, I have decided to withdraw [Herlene Nicole Budol] from the competition despite numerous attempt to fix some pageant debacles," said Miss Planet Philippines national director Wilbert Tolentino in a Facebook post.
Without diving deep into the issue, Tolentino said: "it seems like the Ugandan Government has no initiative to intervene."
Herlene arrived in Uganda on November 5, weeks ahead of the pageant’s preliminary activities. Prior to this, she also shared that her national costume had been damaged by the airline in the journey.
Wilbert then apologized to Herlene’s supporters, sponsors and designers, and thanked them.
Likewise, he also thanked the Filipino community in Uganda "for the comfort and well wishes," and to several people “for protecting and keeping my queen, Herlene and her team safe."
He also expressed how hurt he was not only for losing a crown, but for losing time, money, and effort.
"Not only [did we lose] a crown, [we lost] money, [lost] effort; but [also lost] time," he said.
"This is indeed a traumatic experience for all of us, but we fought for it until the end. And that is our mission," he added.
Despite this major setback, Wilbert said that they will never lose hope, “because we have [a] bright future back home [that] awaits.”
Miss Planet International was supposed to be Herlene’s first international pageant, after placing first runner-up in Binibining Pilipinas and taking home at least seven special awards.
