Maxine says interpreter on standby to help her understand judges’ slang 

Maxine Medina is making history as the first candidate from the Philippines to have an interpreter with her in the event that she makes it to the Question and Answer portion of the 65th Miss Universe pageant.

On Sunday at the Red Carpet event, Medina explained that the interpreter will be on standby only if she needs help understanding the question, especially if the person asking the question has an accent.

Medina has been working on her Q&A skills with her mentors for the past months and they've been preparing for her to give her response in English.

"We've been training a lot for Q&A and everything, what we train, is all about English. I answered always in English and then, all of a sudden, if I'm going to try Filipino. Magugulahan lang 'yong isip ko," Medina explained. 

She added, "He's going to be there as standby, in case something happens or I want him to rephrase or explain to me the question, because some of the judges speak in English with a slang."

Maxine Medina talks about her decision to have a translator on standby for #MissUniverse Q&A @gmanews pic.twitter.com/RdECCDNreW

— Bianca Rose Dabu (@biancadabu) January 29, 2017

Medina has been the subject of some bashing by fans because of her English and communications skills. But she has drawn the support of fellow beauty queens, who have said there's nothing wrong with using an interpreter for the contest.

Watch the 65th Miss Universe coronation event live on GMA on January 30, beginning at 8:00 a.m. —report from Bianca Rose Dabu/Aya Tantiangco/ALG, GMA News