As part of the question and answer portion of the pageant, candidates were made to randomly select the name of their questioner-judge out of a fishbowl.
The name that San Miguel picked was that of Vivienne Tan, who asked "What role did your family play for you as candidate to Binibining Pilipinas?"

San Miguel responded:
Well, my family's role for me is so important, because there was the wa-- they're, they was the one who's... very... haha... Oh I'm so sorry.
Umm, my Pamily... my Pamily... Oh my God.
I'm... Ok.
I'm so sorry.
I... I told you that I'm so confident.
Eto, umm, wait... Hahahaha!
Umm, sorry guys because this was really my first pageant ever, because I'm only 17 years old and... haha... I, I did not expect that I came from-- I came from one of the taf 10.
Hmmm.
So... But I said that my family is the most important persons [sic] in my life.
Thank you.

As San Miguel lost her composure in giving her answer, the audience reacted with jeers and applause, as well as laughter from the panel of judges and other contestants.
Midway through her answer, pageant host Paolo Bediones encouraged her off-microphone to continue in Tagalog, though she proceeded with her response in English.

Despite the problems with her answer, she went on to win the competition and was crowned Binibining Pilipinas World.
The criteria for judging the winner of the pageant allotted 80 percent to physical beauty, leaving just 20 percent to be divided evenly between personality and intelligence.
Bediones later defended San Miguel, saying "I admire her for not buckling under the pressure and for being as blatantly honest as possible".
However, he also added, "No matter how badly she may have performed in the Q&A, she couldn't have lost much considering she had a huge headstart in the scores".
Winning the title made her the official designated Philippine delegate to the Miss World 2008 pageant, which was scheduled to be held later that year in Kiev, Ukraine (the venue was later moved to Johannesburg, South Africa due to the conflict between Georgia and Russia).

San Miguel has admitted to being offended by criticism of her response.
In an interview with entertainment commentator Ricky Lo a week after the event, she explained that she did not comprehend the question clearly when she was on stage at the pageant, due to the softness of the questioner's voice.
When given another opportunity to answer the same question, she smiled and said, "My family is my inspiration".
As part of the question and answer portion of the pageant, candidates were made to randomly select the name of their questioner-judge out of a fishbowl. The name that San Miguel picked was that of Vivienne Tan, who asked "What role did your family play for you as candidate to Binibining Pilipinas?"
San Miguel responded:
Well, my family's role for me is so important, because there was the wa-- they're, they was the one who's... very... haha... Oh I'm so sorry. Umm, my Pamily... my Pamily... Oh my God. I'm... Ok. I'm so sorry. I... I told you that I'm so confident. Eto, umm, wait... Hahahaha! Umm, sorry guys because this was really my first pageant ever, because I'm only 17 years old and... haha... I, I did not expect that I came from-- I came from one of the taf 10. Hmmm. So... But I said that my family is the most important persons [sic] in my life. Thank you.
As San Miguel lost her composure in giving her answer, the audience reacted with jeers and applause, as well as laughter from the panel of judges and other contestants. Midway through her answer, pageant host Paolo Bediones encouraged her off-microphone to continue in Tagalog, though she proceeded with her response in English.
Despite the problems with her answer, she went on to win the competition and was crowned Binibining Pilipinas World. The criteria for judging the winner of the pageant allotted 80 percent to physical beauty, leaving just 20 percent to be divided evenly between personality and intelligence. Bediones later defended San Miguel, saying "I admire her for not buckling under the pressure and for being as blatantly honest as possible". However, he also added, "No matter how badly she may have performed in the Q&A, she couldn't have lost much considering she had a huge headstart in the scores". Winning the title made her the official designated Philippine delegate to the Miss World 2008 pageant, which was scheduled to be held later that year in Kiev, Ukraine (the venue was later moved to Johannesburg, South Africa due to the conflict between Georgia and Russia).
San Miguel has admitted to being offended by criticism of her response. In an interview with entertainment commentator Ricky Lo a week after the event, she explained that she did not comprehend the question clearly when she was on stage at the pageant, due to the softness of the questioner's voice. When given another opportunity to answer the same question, she smiled and said, "My family is my inspiration".
Janina San Miguel