"I Am a Filipina"

Oh, boy. Here we go again. Another foreign born Miss Universe Philippines pageant contestant insisting she is a genuine Filipina. This is despite growing up and being educated in a foreign land and not even knowing how to speak the native language.

"I am a Filipina." So says 3rd place Miss Universe Philippines contestant Victoria Velasquez Vincent as the reason she turned down an offer to from New Zealand to represent them in the Miss Universe 2021 pageant.

https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2021/10/12/2133608/i-am-filipina-victoria-vincent-turns-down-offer-be-miss-new-zealand-miss-universe-2021

Victoria Velasquez Vincent, Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) 2021 Charity, revealed that she was offered to become Miss Universe New Zealand 2021 after the MUPH coronation night but she declined.

In her Instagram account, Victoria said that she declined the offer because her heart will always be for the Philippines. 

“Shortly after the MUPH coronation night, I was offered to be Miss Universe New Zealand 2021. After a week of contemplation, countless discussions with my family, friends and team, I eventually came to the decision to politely decline the offer,” Victoria said. 

“So many people will say I’m crazy for turning down this opportunity, but I had to choose what I know in my heart was the right thing to do. My heart is, and always will be here to serve the Philippines. Some may say I’m not Filipina enough, and that’s ok. I know who I am. I know what I stand for. I am a Filipina,” she added. 

She, however, thanked the Miss Universe New Zealand organization for their faith in her. She also thanked the Miss Universe Philippines organization for their support. 

“Thank you to the MUNZ org for your kindness. I am endlessly grateful that you had faith in me and offered me the opportunity of a lifetime. Thank you to the MUPH org for offering your support regardless of what I decided to do,” she said. 

“I am so excited to see what the future holds for us, Philippines,” she added.  

Now, this is quite odd. Why would New Zealand offer the spot of Miss Universe New Zealand to the third place winner of the Miss Universe Philippines contest? Do they not have a candidate? And why this particular person? She's a Filipina, right?

WRONG!!

Victoria Velasquez Vincent, much like Miss Universe Philippines and Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, is NOT a Filipina. She is in fact a New Zealander. Born to an Irish Father and Filipina mother Victoria has spent all of her life in New Zealand making only occasional visits to the Philippines. On one holiday trip she was kidnapped at the market!

Hear Victoria in her own words with her very own thick New Zealand accent which is a dead giveaway as to her nationality.

Victoria Velasquez Vincent Interview with Luis Portelles: Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Journey

6:40 Honestly the whole thing is just so surreal to me because I like I said I was born and raised in New Zealand.

13:02 You know, I think, for me, the most important thing that I really want people to understand is that being Filipino isn't defined by the language that you were raised to speak, or the color of your skin, or any of your other physical features, you know. It's about who you are on the inside and it's about the values that you hold and how Filipino those values are. And you know my my external appearance might not be a direct representation of Filipinos, you know, what they are calling pure Filipinos, but my heart is truly Filipino and my heart is with my Filipino people and I think that's the most important thing

That's been one of the things that sometimes people raise a lot you know the fact that you were not born in the Philippines can you tell us briefly about your background because I know that you've mentioned this in other interviews and also I don't want to be redundant but just for people who are watching who might not be aware of that can you give us a little bit of your background. 

So, I was born and raised in New Zealand my mom is Filipina Spanish and my dad is Irish

16:22 So, obviously you are representing the province of Cavite which is the the historical capital of the Philippines. Do you feel like that's a big responsibility? 

I do yes. Especially because I studied heritage conservation so, you know, I kind of have like a direct link educationally I have a direct link to the history of Cavite and so i feel like yeah people will expect me to do a really good job at representing the province and my goal is to make sure that I do. Because in my heart I know that you know even though i wasn't born and raised in Cavite I do have the values of what it means to be a Caviteño.

Who can stand this garbage? Being a Filipino is a matter of the heart? What a lie. This lady is lying to herself and to us. Her ONLY claim to being a Filipina is her mom's blood. Filipino citizenship is entirely by blood, jus sanguis, and not by birth, jus soli. That is why there are so many Filipinos around the world who have never set foot in the Philippines. They are the children of OFWs and expatriates. 

Being a Filipino most certainly has to do with the language one speaks, the food one eats, the values one holds dear, the way one sees the world, and the way one looks. Victoria doesn't have any Filipino values. She has New Zealand values. She probably wipes after she pisses and puts the seat down before she goes! I bet she took one look at the tabo and said while wincing with disgust, "Eww! No way." Even her very distinctive New Zealand accent gives her away as being NOT A FILIPINO! She does not even speak the local language!

1:01:54 I hope people see that even though I am a half Filipina, I wasn't born and raised here, I don't, you know, speak their language fluently, my, my heart is in the right place and, yeah, I want people to see that.

Victoria Velasquez Vincent LIVE with Tita Lavinia

In that interview Victoria Velasquez Vincent admits she is not a Filipino and expects people to look past that fact because "my heart is in the right place." 

Victoria's advocacy, both personal and pageant related, is to build proper buildings for Filipinos. She bizarrely says that because of colonialism Filipino architecture is all messed up and that these buildings aren't designed with Filipinos in mind. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ7QhpPMdds/

I remember seeing a site similar to this circa 2012 - make-shift homes in such close proximity to high-end residential condominiums. That image, and the undeniably complex phenomenon of poverty in the Philippines influenced the path I decided to take with my Architecture and Heritage Conservation degrees. 6 years later I took this photo to include in my Master’s thesis.

Despite the unfortunate circumstances that cause their existence, make-shift dwellings are an example of Filipino ingenuity, local materiality and creativity, as well as Filipino resilience. 

After centuries of colonization, our historic architectural identity has been diluted and Western design principles are working against the typical Filipino’s fundamental way of living. In a society that favors the upper class, the gap in social classes is expanding rapidly. 

The complex nature of poverty cannot be solved by one person, or in a short period of time, but that doesn’t mean the ultimate goal of a sense of social equality is unattainable. I’m so proud to see organizations in the Philippines working towards realizing this goal. Today marks the start of learning from them, offering them my time, my working hands and my knowledge. 

Reduce the gap. Reinforce our culture. Design for Filipinos.

What is the "historical architectural identity" of the Philippines? Bamboo huts? How are the Western design principles that are part of the architecture in the Philippines "working against the typical Filipino’s fundamental way of living?" What does that even mean? Are these same Western design principles which are also prevalent in New Zealand working against the typical Maori's fundamental way of living? Does she even care about the Maoris? Sounds like baseless anti-Western atrocity propaganda to me.

So, let's sum up here. Victoria Velasquez Vincent, who has a Filipina mother but was born and raised in New Zealand, has come to the Philippines to put her architecture degree to work by revamping the whole of Filipino architecture in an effort to solve poverty and help the poor. Her Filipinoness is not to be disputed because being a Filipino is a matter of the heart and not genetics or the language one speaks. 

She reminds me of a certain fat white American man who once said the same thing and who everyone rightly mocked.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/transracial-man-born-white-feels-like-he-is-filipino/491290902

Riding in a flamboyant purple vehicle, Ja Du shows up to a coffee shop to open up about his new identity. 

Ja Du, born a white male named Adam, now considers himself a Filipino. Turns out the purple ride he drives around in is called a Tuk Tuk, an Asian-derived vehicle used for public transit in the Philippines he says. 

Ja Du is part of a small, but growing community of people who considers themselves transracial. It refers to someone born one race, but identifies with another. 

Sound weird? Not to them. Ja Du says he grew up enjoying Filipino food, events and the overall culture. 

“Whenever I’m around the music, around the food, I feel like I’m in my own skin,” he said. 

“I’d watch the history channel sometimes for hours you know whenever it came to that and you know nothing else intrigued me more but things about Filipino culture.”

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2017/11/a-filipino-trapped-in-white-mans-body.html  

What makes this all the more sickening is that she probably doesn't even have a thought in the world about her real home country, New Zealand. She owes her entire upbringing and education to that nation. Is she proud to be a Kiwi or does she think that's racist? It's disgusting that Filipinos will readily accept this lady as one of their own. Victoria Velasquez Vincent and others like her cheapen and degrade the Philippines and Filipinos by redefining what it means to be a Filipino.