Venus Raj accepts training for Miss Universe; reinstatement still uncertain

By ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZ
April 18, 2010, 12:00pm

Her crown is still hanging by a thread but controversial beauty queen Maria Venus Raj said she will accept the invitation by the Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI) to train for Miss Universe starting April 19.

However, it doesn’t follow that she has officially regained her Bb. Pilipinas-Universe title.

“Kasi wala pa po akong passport but we’re working on it," Raj explains on "Startalk," April 17. "[But] we’re very positive na makakakuha ako ng passport.”

Note, however, that her training will, for now, take place in the Philippines and not in Colombia where Bb Pilipinas winners are usually sent to prepare for international pageants.

Recall that after the BPCI announced Venus’ dethronement a few weeks ago due to alleged inconsistencies between her legal documents and testimonials, the organization announced that they will reinstate her for “humanitarian reasons,” provided that she secure a valid Philippine passport.

The CamSur beauty maintained, though, that even prior to BPCI’s announcement of her conditional reinstatement, she has already began fixing the requirements for her passport.

“Inaayos na po talaga namin ‘yon [passport], kasi kailangan naman po talaga pag lalabas ka ng bansa, may passport ka. Pero ‘yon nga po, may ibang issue na nangyari, so ayun po, medyo nalayo sa passport issue,” she said.

Amid all the uncertainty and confusion, Venus said everything is "okay” between her and BPCI.

“Hindi pa po nakakausap ng lawyers ko ang laywers ng BPCI. Pero as long as okay naman po ‘yong relationship and open naman na po sila na mag-train ako and ako po, of course very much willing naman po ako na mag-train, [ay] everything’s okay naman po,” she said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/