JULIANA PALERMO'S STATEMENT IN JOINING BBP 2010!

Juliana Palermo wrote:A Dream I've Always Had..

Today at 4:21am

There is no doubt that every girl, at some point of their childhood, dreamt of becoming a beauty queen. Above anything else, I've never wanted more than to represent the Philippines considering that I am one hundred percent Filipino. Even though I spent most of my "growing up" years in Los Angeles and learned a more "liberated" way of seeing things, my heart never left Davao City, my home. When I got sent back here int he Philippines almost nine years ago, I had merely nothing to start with as a teenager. I was firm with my intentions to help and I knew I had a purpose to fulfill.

In 2002, an opportunity to join and win the pageant "Hiyas Sa Kadayawan" in Davao City fell on my lap. Little did I know, this was my first step into the crazy world of entertainment. I was sent to Manila to represent and some I felt that I belonged, and that there was something out here for me just waiting to happen. I fought for it. Just when I was running out of ideas to survive and was on my way to give up, a movie came my way - XXX.COM by Tikoy Aguiluz. I quickly jumped into this opportunity not realizing the price I may have to pay later on down the road. This was "work" after all.

They say that there is always something to be thankful for, and one of them would definitely be the birth of Juliana Palermo! There is no doubt that this film opened up many doors for me. Although I played a "sexy" role, I'm still stand proud to have won a Best New Actress award for it. Up until this very day, ten drama, action and horror films later, I still don't feel like I've started my acting career yet. I still feel that something is missing, and this is why I decided to take a different route far away from entertainment the past year. I worked a "regular" job overseas and decided to try going back to school in L.A. to get back "on track." But something seems to keep pulling me back.

One of the main reasons why I am back in Manila now is because I was originally planning to once again try to screen for Bb. Pilipinas. This would've been my last chance to try since I'm already 24. I did some homework on it and asked a few influential figures for some advice. They had told me that, in this type of industry, it may be impossible for me to join because of the sexy movie I made seven years ago -XXX.COM. Although I could see the sincerity of their sadness as they said these things to me, I still felt the unjust rejection. It took me time to get over it, but I guess that's just how "life" goes right?

I am writing this because I've read enough emails/messages from people who ask me about this throughout the years and I thought it was fair to voice out my opinion since I've already accepted the harsh truth to this anyway. Thank you all so much for continuing to believe in me=)
This time, I want to speak for those who were once little girls and dreamt of becoming a beauty queen, and those who really have it in their hearts to represent the Philippines. I want to speak out for those who have made mistakes in the past when they were young and didn't know any better. I believe that everyone should be given the chance to make things right. If the community continues to belittle women, like myself, who were caught in a situation they had no power over, then how else are we going to be able to lift ourselves up and be respected? How else can we make things right and regain our self-confidence as public figures?