Early Life and Education: Maria Venus Bayonito Raj, Popularly Known As Venus Raj (Born 7 July 1988)
Early Life and Education: Maria Venus Bayonito Raj, Popularly Known As Venus Raj (Born 7 July 1988)
Early Life and Education: Maria Venus Bayonito Raj, Popularly Known As Venus Raj (Born 7 July 1988)
Contents
Pageantry[edit]
Miss Philippines Earth 2008[edit]
Following her victory as Miss Bicolandia, Raj represented Legazpi City and competed in the Miss
Philippines Earth 2008, and was named as Miss Philippines Earth Eco Tourism 2008, and 5th
Runner-up to eventual Miss Earth 2008 winner Karla Henry on May 11, 2008 at the Crowne
Plaza Galleria, Manila.
In a local television appearance, Raj stated that a representative for Miss Universe 2010 spoke with
her and looked into her case. In the same interview, she said, “My fight is now more than just
chasing a dream. It is about clearing my soiled reputation. It is about standing up for people who are
poor and born out of wedlock. It is a fight for acceptance.” [8]
Reinstatement[edit]
On 10 April 2010, the Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. allowed Raj to reclaim her title due to
humanitarian reasons. An additional requirement that Raj should legally obtain a valid Philippine
passport as proof of her true citizenship was also requested by the pageant organizers. [9]
On 19 May 2010, the Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs finally issued Raj a Philippine
passport thereby attesting to her Filipino citizenship. [10] According to the Department of Foreign
Affairs, Raj is a Philippine citizen by virtue of the jus sanguinis principle (“right of blood”), a basic
right provided by the Philippine Constitution which bestows upon a person the citizenship of his
father or mother regardless of where the person was born, thus declaring her of Filipino citizenship.
[11]
Upon issuance of her Philippine passport, Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. announced that it would
reinstate Raj. She is the first dethroned Binibining Pilipinas to have her crown reinstated. [12]
Raj at "The GOOD Run" event in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, April 2011
In line with the dethronement netizens and showbiz personalities gave their support to Miss Raj, one
of the people who openly supported her was the Canadian model Andrew Philip who later on
became a part of the Bravo Reality Show Below Deck, Philip was very vocal about his support of
Venus in continuing on with the competition, after the competition Andrew was asked to give a
special message to Venus that was aired in The Sweet Life in QTV a sub network of GMA Network.
It was reported that Andrew and Venus finally met each other at the LEE Fashion Week in Mall of
Asia in 2010 [13]