Beauty queen stripped of her Miss Philippines-Universe title

21-year-old Maria Venus Raj would have represented the Philippines in the Miss Universe pageant in August. She has already begun charity work after winning the competition on March 6.

The beauty queen was disqualified on Monday after the foundation that organizes the local pageant found out she had been born in Qatar to an Indian man who was not married to her Filipina mother.

Her birth certificate shows Raj was born in the Philippines to married Filipinos.

"Today, March 29, 2010, Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. decided, with a heavy heart, to let Binibining Pilipinas-Universe 2010 Maria Venus Raj go, after the organization discovered inconsistencies contained in her birth records, in contrast to her personal account of her birth." the organizers said in a statement on the pageant's website.

"We found out about the inconsistencies after the coronation night,' Lilia Ambay, of Miss Philippines-Universe Charity Incorporated, told reporters.

The reason for the disqualfication was not citizenship issues, but that her birth certificate contained false information, Ambay said.

Raj will be replaced by a runner-up in the Miss Universe pageant, Ambay added.