MANILA, Philippines – “I thought it was a good answer,” Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said Monday of Pia Wurtzbach’s response to his question at the Bb. Pilipinas pageant.

Reacting to disgruntled fans who blamed him for the former actress’ loss on Sunday night, Angara said, “I respect their opinion and can understand where they are coming from.”

Many believed Angara’s decision to ask in Filipino threw off the Filipino-German Wurtzbach, who hails from Cagayan de Oro and lived in England.

“Ano yung pinakamagandang leksyon na maituturo ng isang babae sa buong mundo (What is the most important lesson that a woman can impart to the world)?” Angara, who was among the competition judges, asked.

Wurtzbach answered, “Ang isang leksyon na maituturo ng babae sa buong mundo ay yung tiwala sa kanyang sarili. Yung intuition po na tinatawag natin. Kapag meron ka pong intuition alam mo sa sarili mo kung saan mo ilulugar yung sarili mo sa mundo. Kahit na hindi ka sigurado sa nararamdaman mo o sa naiisip mo pero kung alam mo sa intuition mo, then magiging successful ka sa kahit anong gawin mo sa buhay mo.”

(The lesson that a woman may impart to the world is having trust in herself. What you call intuition. If you have intuition you will be able to find your place in the world. Even if you are not sure with what you feel or think, if you are intuitive, then you will become successful in whatever you do in your life.)

Before giving his question, Angara even asked Wurtzbach, “Okay lang ba Tagalog (Can I ask it in Tagalog)?”

“Opo, pwede ko ring sagutin ng Tagalog kung gusto nyo po (Yes, I can also answer it in Tagalog if you want.),” the contestant answered.

The 24-year old did not win any crown during the Bb. Pilipinas pageant but bagged special awards from the contest sponsors. She received the She’s So Jag Award and was hailed Miss Philippines Airlines.

The senator said he explained the contestant’s answer to the foreign judges.

“I did try to explain her answer to the foreign judges along with my comments that I thought it was a good answer and judges like Miss Universe (Gabriela Isler) and (Mexican Ambassador to the Philippines Julio) Camarena seemed to agree,” he told INQUIRER.net.

Aside from Isler and Camarena, the other foreign members of the judging panel were Sofitel Philippine Plaza general manager Adam Laker and United States’ consul officer William Cristopher.

Angara believed Wurtzbach deserved to win since she was “very smart and beautiful.”

“But it was a strong field as the judges commented. We even had to vote several times,” he revealed.