MANILA, Philippines?Miss Philippines-Earth 2009 Sandra Inez Seifert sympathizes with Maria Venus Raj, the embattled beauty queen whose Binibining Pilipinas-Universe crown still hangs in the balance.

?I can relate 100 percent to what she is going through,? said Seifert, a Filipino-German model and nursing graduate. ?I wish [Venus? case] had been handled another way.?

Last year, contest organizer Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) had disqualified Sandra from the competition two days before pageant night in March, due to her photos that appeared in a men?s magazine in 2007.

Venus was stripped of her title last month due to alleged misrepresentation?specifically, inconsistencies in her official birth records.

Both girls have claimed they were not given time to answer the accusations against them.

?It?s tough, what [Venus] is going through,? Sandra told Inquirer. ?I had a very strong support group; I hope Venus had that kind of help around her,? she added.

Sandra said she hoped BPCI also learned from the experience. In hindsight, she admitted she is grateful for her disqualification, since it paved the way for her joining the rival Miss Philippines-Earth pageant. ?As ?Miss Philippines-Earth,?? she said, ?I was able to touch many lives.?

Close second
Her victory as Miss Philippines-Earth led to her participation in the Miss Earth pageant in Boracay, against some 80 international delegates. She placed second to Brazil?s Larissa Ramos and also won the ?Miss Earth-Air? title.

A new Miss Philippines-Earth will be crowned tomorrow night in a water-theme pageant to be held at the Manila Ocean Park.

Catherine Untalan, executive director of the Miss Earth Foundation, said the pageant is looking for ?a well-rounded person, someone worth looking up to.?

The Miss Philippines-Earth pageant will be telecast April 25, 10 p.m. on ABS-CBN.