MANILA – Former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate Vickie Rushton is considered one of the frontrunners of Binibining Pilipinas, which sends representatives to Miss International and other pageants.
But she seems to be facing a huge roadblock to the crown with the recent announcement of Miss International director Stephen Diaz.
In a livestream by the pageant website Missosology over the weekend, Diaz affirmed the age limit of 18 to 28 years old for their pageant. He said a candidate has to “be 18 years old by the time she arrives in the host country and should be 28 years old by the pageant night.”
Miss International is set to take place in Yokohama, Japan, in November.
Rushton, on the other hand, will turn 29 this May.
When asked specifically by Missosology’s Drew Francisco during the livestream if someone who is turning 29 by the pageant night is not allowed to compete, Diaz replied: “Right now, based on the contract that we have sent, and those who have already signed up and paid for the franchise, that is the understanding.”
The Miss International director went on to address rumors of changes in the age limit.
“Maybe you’re hearing some rumors from different people about change in age and stuff like that. You have to be very aware that the national organization has no power to dictate the age limit of our pageant. It’s our pageant so they have to adhere to the rules and regulations that we have set up,” he said.
“To set the record straight, we actually considered accepting girls who would’ve turned 29 before the pageant happens. But this was probably thought about more than a half a year ago, around July or August. Because we are still hoping that we could do the pageant around January, February, or March [2021]. But it just got moved further so sorry to say, we just to stick with the age limit that we have already established in the contract,” he explained. (ABS-CBN)
