Senate resolutions congratulate beauty queen Venus Raj,
martial artist Eros Baluyot

The Senate today passed a resolution congratulating and commending Filipino Beauty Queen Maria Venus Bayonito Raj for finishing fourth runner-up in the Miss Universe Pageant held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on Tuesday. Senate Resolution No. 140 was introduced by Sen. Manuel "Lito" Lapid and was unanimously approved by all senators present during today's session. Majority Floor Leader Vicente "Tito" Sotto moved that all senators be made co-authors of the resolution.

"This honor brought by our Filipino beauty queen deserves to be commended for the pride and recognition she brought our country," the resolution said. "By being crowned fourth runner-up, Maria Venus Raj made our country proud and has shown the world the spirit of Filipino beauty, excellence and grace."

The resolution noted that Raj came from an impoverished family and struggled her way to become the country's representative to the prestigious beauty pageant.

The Miss Universe pageant, which started in 1952 as a local swimwear competition, is an annual event attended by young women around the world vying for its prestigious title.

Meanwhile, the Senate also approved Resolution No. 32 congratulating and commending Filipino martial artist Eros Vincent Baluyot for winning the gold medal in the White Belt Adult Division of the 2010 World Brazilian Jiu-jitsu championships held in Long Beach, California, on June 3-6, 2010. The resolution was also authored by Lapid.

" The Philippine Senate has in several occasions paid tribute to outstanding Filipinos for their astonishing feat of bringing home pride and glory to the country by becoming champions in international sporting competitions," the resolution said. "Seventeen-year-old Eros Vincent Baluyot made the country proud when he won the gold medal in the White Belt Adult Division of the recently concluded 2010 World Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Championships in Long Beach, California," it added.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, a hybrid of the traditional Jiu-jitsu, the Japanese martial art of Kodokan judo and other grappling fighting styles, was popularized in the early 1990s by the Brazil-based Gracie Family during the early development of mixed martial arts and is one of the foundations for Mixed Martial Arts, the resolution further said.

* Press Release by Public Relations and Information Bureau (PRIB)