By Armin Adina, Ephraim Aguilar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
DETHRONED BEAUTY QUEEN MARIA Venus Raj can keep her title that was taken from her less than a month after her coronation as the country’s official representative to the Miss Universe beauty pageant.
In a statement sent Saturday to the Inquirer, Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) said: “… After due deliberation, we have reassessed the situation pertaining to [Raj] and have decided, for humanitarian reasons, that if she is able to obtain a valid Philippine passport, we will reinstate her as Binibining Pilipinas-Universe.”
Albay Governor Joey Salceda, who had sought an explanation for Raj’s dethronement, was very happy and thankful to the BPCI for reconsidering their decision.
Genny Marcial, corporate affairs and PR manager of Araneta Group, the parent organization of BPCI, said Raj would have until June to present a valid Philippine passport “because the Miss Universe pageant may be held in August.”
Word of Raj’s reinstatement spread quickly on the Internet. Online fans who had rushed to her defense were overjoyed and started blogging and uploading the good news on various social networking sites.
Joyce Burton-Titular, whose blogsite www.adventuresofabeautyqueen.com has been following Raj’s story since Day 1, said: “I honestly think it’s the grace of God working through all the bloggers, forums, Facebook community, and TV and newspaper coverage.”
Burton-Titular, herself a former beauty titlist, told the Inquirer that Rafa Delfin, director of the website for pageant aficionados, www.criticalbeauty.com, had sent an appeal to the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) on Raj’s predicament.
On his Facebook fan page supporting Raj, Delfin said he forwarded the newspaper article about Venus’ humble roots to MUO president Paula Shugart, to which she replied: “After reading this article, this young woman definitely deserves her crown back.”
“They were all moved because they felt the humility and honesty of Venus. Her story of being raised on a farm, in a hut with no electricity, graduating cum laude and winning pageants is powerful. And she still goes home to that same hut today,” Burton-Titular said.
Prayers answered
On the Facebook fan page, “Petition for Venus Raj to remain as Bb. Pilipinas-Universe,” there were mixed reactions about the reinstatement. The page has nearly 4,000 fans.
“God sees the truth and hears our prayers. Cheer up Venus, smile and show the world how beautiful you are inside and out,” one of Raj’s supporters posted.
“Petitions were heard, our prayers were answered,” another fan wrote.
However, a number of bloggers and Facebook users continued to criticize the BPCI, the local franchise-holder of the Miss Universe pageant.
“I’m overjoyed that BPCI is giving Venus a chance … [But] why is obtaining a passport posed as a challenge to her? Shouldn’t they help her with it?” one fan posted.
One commented on Raj’s problem regarding her birth certificate.
“It’s the same story for many poor Filipinos applying for overseas work. When they apply for a passport, they discover discrepancies in their birth certificate,” another fan wrote.
This is usually what happens in rural areas where birth registration is entrusted to midwives, who could give the wrong information to the civil registrar.
“Such are the travails of the rural poor. But did these people commit misrepresentation? No. Were they persecuted by law? No. Their records were simply corrected,” another fan said.
Inconsistencies
The 21-year-old Raj won the Binibining-Pilipinas-Universe title last March 6. She romped away with the special awards Best in Long Gown and Best in Terno, and was voted by her fellow candidates as Miss Friendship.
But on March 29, BPCI stripped her of her title for inconsistencies in her birth records. The organization also proclaimed second runner-up Helen Nicolette Henson as her replacement.
BPCI told the Inquirer that Raj’s birth certificate stated that she was born in Bato, Camarines Sur, her father is a Catholic Filipino, and her parents are married.
However, it was learned that she was born in Doha, Qatar, her father is Indian and she was born out of wedlock.
BPCI said misrepresentation was the sole basis for stripping Raj of her title, and not citizenship or residency as in previous dethronement cases.
Raj disputed BPCI’s claims of misrepresentation. In television interviews, she said she never hid the truth. As early as November, during the screening for the pageant, she already told BPCI that she was born in Doha, Qatar, to an Indian father and a Filipino mother.
Raj said she did not have a hand in the filing of her birth certificate with the erroneous information. The inconsistency was a result of the delayed filing of her birth certificate.
Her aunt, Josephine Ramos, filed the document three years after she was born. Raj said her aunt did what she did to protect her family from embarrassment.
Raj said she only learned of the inconsistency when she was in high school and was applying for a scholarship. She added that it was poverty that prevented her from correcting her official birth records.
Prominent personalities expressed dismay—even outrage-when they learned of BPCI’s earlier decision. Among them were senator and vice presidential candidate Loren Legarda, Gabriela party-list representative and senatorial candidate Liza Maza, Commission on Human Rights Chair Leila de Lima and Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption Chair Dante Jimenez.
Raj, who graduated cum laude with a degree in Communication at Bicol University, will attempt to become the country’s third Miss Universe winner, after Gloria Diaz (1969) and Margie Moran (1973).
The last time the country placed in the pageant was in 1999 when Miriam Quiambao was proclaimed first runner-up to Botswana’s Mpule Kwelagobe. With a report from Rey Nasol, Inquirer Southern Luzon
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