"What is one big mistake that you've made in your life and what did you do to make it right?"
"Thank you so much, Sir for that wonderful question," Venus Raj, Miss Philippines, says and then greets the audience, met by wild cheering. "You know what, Sir in my 22 years of existence I can say that there is nothing major major, I mean, problem that I have done in my life. Because I am very confident with my family, with the love that they are giving to me. So, thank you so much that I am here, thank you thank you so much," she answered.
Raj was almost replaced by Bb. Pilipinas runner-up Helen Nicolette Henson after being stripped of her crown and title when organizers of the Binibining Pilipinas-Universe pageant found "inconsistencies" on her birth certificate.
The Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. said Raj would be reinstated on the condition that she is able to obtain a valid Philippine passport. "We have reassessed the situation pertaining to Miss Maria Venus Raj and have decided, for humanitarian reasons, that if she is able to obtain a valid Philippine passport, we will reinstate her as the reigning Bb. Pilipinas-Universe," said the BCPI.
Raj then obtained a valid Philippine passport from the Department of Foreign Affairs, despite saying she should be reinstated without condition. On August 4, Raj flew to the United States to represent the Philippines, competing with 82 other beauty queens from Albania to Zambia in a pageantry of swimsuits, evening gowns and quick-thinking interview skills in the their quest to bring home the 2010 Miss Universe crown.
Miss Philippines, Venus Raj, was heavily applauded after being declared the fourth runner-up in this year's Miss Universe pageant, participated in by 83 contestants from around the world.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/199261/rps-venus-raj-4th-runner-up-in-2010-miss-universe-pageant
