What is your comment on the dethronement of Bb. Pilipinas Universe Venus Raj?

Bernard Nillo, Bacnotan City: The dethronement of Venus Raj was a fair and just decision. The investigating committee has found pertinent and legal documents that prove she is not a Filipina.  

Armando Tavera, Las Piñas City: Nothing unusual, really, because the same thing has happened before. Remember Anjanette Abayari, Tisha Silang and Janelle Bautista? Same case.  

Organizers should’ve scrutinized the documents

Leandro Tolentino, Batangas City: Mine is it was not her fault if organizers overlooked minor glitches in the papers she submitted. She should be allowed to compete in the Miss Universe pageant.  

Ernesto F. Oliquiano, Las Piñas City: From newspaper accounts that I read, it seems that there were some inconsistencies in the information contained in the documents submitted and in the personal declarations of Raj and her mother about her citizenship, but I don’t believe it was intentional. Anyhow, the organizers have their own rules to be followed and participants know this. I think this controversy could have been avoided had the organizers taken the extra effort to authenticate and verify the information provided to them before admitting Raj to the pageant.  

Roque Paghinayan, Metro Manila: I  would blame Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. for neglecting to scrutinize strictly the documents submitted to them by Maria Venus Raj. 

Rose Leobrera, Manila: The Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. was the one that committed the blunder. They should not have accepted Raj in the first place, if indeed there was a discrepancy in her papers. This hullabaloo would not have been an issue if Raj had not won, but she did. Why make a big deal out of it now? In fact, Filipina naman siya, so there’s really no issue. I know that to enter this pageant, dadaan ka talaga sa butas ng karayom. Why let Raj suffer when they were the ones that committed the oversight?  

Arvin Padual, Quezon City: The dethronement of Bb. Pilipinas Universe Venus Raj is a great manifestation of incompetence on the part of the members of the committee handling the pageant.  

Railey Verzosa, Metro Manila: It’s a national embarrassment. The Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. should be held accountable for not doing its job.  

Benru Martinez, Tarlac: Ano ba ang dala niyang passport, Filipino ba siya o hindi? Eh pano kung hindi niya alam talaga ang nakasulat sa birth certificate niya? Somebody did not do his or her job properly.  

Marc Oliver M. Salazar, Malolos City: Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. hasn’t been fair to Ms. Raj. The screening committee should have known this technicality way before the coronation night. Did they even consider how the candidate will ever recover and rebuild her dignity if ever she’s proven right? Another major issue worth discussing here is the case of 1st runner-up winner Diane Necio, who is supposed to take over but didn’t get to since she is technically ‘’under age’’ to compete in the Miss Universe. What on earth is the purpose of imposing certain age requirements when they themselves are violating it and their winners’ rights?  

The organizers were just rectifying their mistake

C.B. Manalastas, Manila: By dethroning Venus, the BPCI was merely correcting its lapse in order to comply with the rules of the Miss Universe pageant. Venus Raj paid dearly for her and her mother’s honesty in revealing the true status of her birth contrary to the NSO-authenticated document.  

Cris Rivera, Rizal: Its credibility and integrity at stake, the BPCI, leaning on the material and factual evidence at hand, made the appropriate decision.  

Rodolfo Talledo, Angeles City: There are rules to be followed and they are quite simple and easy. One of those is honesty. Was she?  

L.C. Fiel, Quezon City: If official records and word of mouth don’t match, then something is amiss. Though belated, and thus causing great embarrassment to Raj, I believe the Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. did the right thing. Honesty is always the best policy.  

A wasted opportunity for us

Miguelito Herrera, Cabanatuan City: I believe Venus Raj is the best RP bet for this year’s Miss Universe contest and it’s truly disappointing that the organizers unjustly dethroned her. It was never her intention to deceive the Bb. Pilipinas Charities Inc. because her application was based on documents that were legal at the time she underwent the screening process. She could have been our third Miss Universe after more than 30 years. Sayang. It’s another wasted opportunity for beauty pageant fanatics who dream of RP winning another major international crown.  

Something was amiss from the beginning

Rey Ibalan, Antipolo City: It’s a boo-boo on the part of the organizer. They should have screened the personal information of the candidate before they are allowed to join the pageant.  

Rene Fuentes, Quezon City: If the BPCI had only done their homework beforehand, the controversy would not have happened.  

Col. Ben Paguirigan Jr., Ret., Zamboanga City: It was just and proper, but why only now after she won? There must have been something wrong from the beginning, right?  

Maricel Maralit, Naga City: It’s unfair. If Venus was not qualified, why was she allowed to field her candidacy? Was the screening committee sleeping on the job? Inapi indo an kababayan mi.  

Ella Arenas, Pangasinan: It’s the extreme height of stupidity. They should have just rejected unqualified candidates from the initial screening. The organizing committee was put in a very bad light as a result of this brouhaha. Nakakahiya.  

Kelvin Casamayor, Ilocos Sur: Why did the BPCI allow this to happen? If there were discrepancies in her birth records, then it was their responsibility to question it.  

Jim Veneracion, Naga City: Something is amiss in the screening process of the pageant. Imagine the shame and probable ridicule Raj would have to face. Do we see a scam here?  

Lydia Reyes, Bataan: The issue exposes loopholes in the BPCI’s rules and guidelines. Why did they discover the discrepancies in her birth certificate too late?  

Ricardo Tolentino, Laoag City: The dethronement of Venus Raj mirrors the sad reality in our country. It’s like we vote first then we impeach.Why did the organizer let her participate?  

Elpidio Que, Vigan: Venus Raj’s dethronement as Bb. Pilipinas Universe is just appropriate, though it’s such a pity for this beautiful girl. She lied about her birthplace in her resume, and it was discovered not to be the correct one. Poor Venus. She has to suffer the consequence.  

Marlene Howe, Tacoma, Washington, USA: If there were some doubts and then proven facts, why did the pageant organizers allow her to compete before disqualifying her? Was there an attempt to bribe somebody and sweep it under the rug?  

We sympathize with her

Nito Aquino, Makati City: Venus and her mom should have just stood by the official data in the birth certificate instead of openly proclaiming a different fact. Nobody would have known; they should have kept quiet.  

Josh Pacatang, Dipolog City: We sympathize with Venus Raj in her embarrassment from her own public statements about her place of birth in Qatar that contradicted her birth certificate, which was submitted by some naughty persons. The Ms. Universe franchise has to protect and defend its business against any fraudulent scheme, artifice or ploy that undermines its integrity as the most prestigious beauty contest organization in this country.  

JC Bernardo, Laguna: Ang mali lang dito ay hinayaan muna nila lumahok si Venus at manalo bago nila i-disqualify. That’s a total embarrassment in Venus’ case.  

Honesty is the best policy

Gerii Calupitan, Muntinlupa City: Honesty is the best policy. That was the motto of my ex-wife Jo’s proposed honesty insurance company. It applies to everything under the sun. One who is dishonest in small things cannot be trusted in big transactions, my Chinoy kumpare Ato once said. If only Venus Raj were truthful in her bio-data, then her being Bb. Pilipinas-Universe would not have been compromised. Women have the tendency to lie about their real age. A female tourist in a Las Vegas Casino was given a tip, “Bet your age on the roulette.” She bet 29. The ball rested on 41 and she fainted.  

Edwin Castillo, Tanauan City: Sa apelyido at hitsura niya, isa siyang Bombay na pinanganak sa ibang bansa.  

Jose Rizal Reyes, Metro Manila; A sympathetic column which I read recently in The Philippine STAR showed that Venus is an honest girl and that it was her honesty that did her in. We have to remember that as a newborn, she had nothing to do whatsoever with how her birth was registered.  

This is a non-event

Nony de Leon, Malolos City: This matter is best left to the discretion of the franchise holders. It’s a non-event which ought not to be exploited.  

Marivic Fisher, Los Banos, California, USA: Give her a break guys, she’s just trying lang naman siguro kung makalusot. But it’s a good thing she’s proud of her Pinoy heritage.  

Rene Poder, Manila: No comment; my thoughts are focused on “less important matters” like survival.  

Manuel Abejero, Pangasinan: Her birth certificate has untrue entries, such as her mother being not actually married to her father and that she was born in Qatar, not in Camarines Sur, which is my birthplace and is more beautiful than Boracay but only lacks promotion. Hey, why give too much attention to this? This issue should be allowed to rest.  

Myrna Reyes, San Diego, California, USA: It’s silly. These beauty contests are getting more and more ridiculous, giving too much attention to the organization’s comedy of errors. I feel bad for the young woman.  

Crab mentality

J. Nacilla, Las Piñas City: The organizer, Venus Raj herself as well as her family, are all to blame for this brouhaha. I cannot believe that with her foreign features, she was not the talk of the town when she was growing up. Maybe her mother and some relatives connived in the false registration of her birth to hide the truth to save the family’s face. Without thinking of the possibility of her joining and winning a beauty contest someday, they took the chance and submitted a birth certificate based on the original false information. The mistake of the organizing committee was that they failed to verify the authenticity of the birth certificate. There is only one reason why it came out in the open after she won  jealousy and intrigue.  

Robert Young Jr., San Juan: I feel sad that politics does not spare even beauty contests. Venus should have been given a chance to explain herself, and not unceremoniously dethroned and replaced with another. This is no presidential or senatorial election. Even in politics, it takes the electoral tribunal years to declare the real winner of a contested position. By dethroning Venus, the committee has put an indelible stigma on the poor girl  for life. Those who won in the beauty contest will long be forgotten but she will be known as that girl who cheated not because she is not beautiful but for a silly inconsistency in her birth certificate.  

THE WAY I SEE IT

Johann Lucas, Quezon City: The same old political issues are lurking in the corridors of power. This is why we continue to lag behind other nations until now.  

Manuel Abejero, Pangasinan: The Philippines is a nation inhabited by 30 million egoists, 30 million egotists and 30 million egocentrics, with demented SC justices, corrupt leaders and a majority of idiots.  

Mykov Rivera, Quezon City: No matter who wins and becomes the next president of this God-forsaken country, the economy will still be the same.  

Views expressed in this section do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The STAR. The STAR does not knowingly publish false information and may not be held liable for the views of readers exercising their right to free expression. The publication also reserves the right to edit contributions to this section as it sees fit.

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