'Having a kid is a blessing' - PEPPS

Prime Event Productions Philippines (PEPPS) Foundation Inc., the group that organizes the annual Misters of Filipinas contest, has said that it is fully aware that reigning Mister Universe Tourism Ion Perez has a child when he competed and won in the local male pageant.

"The PEPPS Board is very much aware of the fact that Mr. Ion Perez has a son at the time that he joined the 2017 edition of Misters of Filipinas," says the popular pageant organizer in a statement when asked to comment on Perez having a three-year-old son. The statement was released by Richard Montoya, PEPPS director for legal.

 "The PEPPS Board has been very considerate of this sensitive issue and we have told the candidates that the rule that we have adopted since the 2015 edition is that the Candidate must be SINGLE as shown in his Passport and was NEVER Married;

"We also made it clear with the candidates during the previous editions that it will never be considered a 'MISTAKE' in having a kid.  Having their own child when they were still younger or at that point in time that they were still in the process of knowing themselves better is not a MISTAKE but a BLESSING from God;

"We also made it clear with them that there are some international male pageants that allow SINGLE Fathers to compete and likewise there are also international male pageants that are very strict with the rule of being SINGLE and not having fathered any child," PEPPS says.

Dr. Jumel Bornilla, President of the Mister Universe Tourism pageant, says that they learned about Perez having a son after the international contest.

PEPPS says that the selection process for Misters of Filipinas will remain the same as the rule on having a child and still maintaining to be SINGLE has been observed since 2015.

"The PEPPS Board was also aware of the status of the candidates from their background and profile review and personal admission of candidates.  We encourage the candidates to inform the PEPPS Board of any sensitive personal information that we need to know so that we will be able to handle it properly and address the same in the proper time and venue.  Since 2015, even if it is not publicly announced, there were selected number of candidates who admitted to have a child and have remained Single," the group explains.

PEPPS gave an advice to young men with kids who want to join Misters of Filipinas.

"The PEPPS Board will always maintain that having their child when they were still younger or at the time that they were still in the process of knowing themselves better is not a MISTAKE but a BLESSING from God.  Having a child or two and maintained to remain SINGLE will still allow them to pursue their dreams even in joining Misters of Filipinas pageant;

The PEPPS Foundation, Inc. has been very passionate in its advocacy of uplifting the male pageantry in the Philippines by giving the candidates the much-deserved respect, recognition and acceptance.  Others may consider it as a MISTAKE but we should always remember that no matter what struggles or challenges that we may have faced before, the most important thing is how we managed to improve ourselves to become better and embraced the learnings from those experiences," the group adds. - ROBERT REQUINTINA