MANILA, Philippines?Seemingly overlooked in the face of Miss Philippines Venus Raj?s ?major, major? answer during the interview portion in the Miss Universe 2010 pageant in Las Vegas is the fact that her top-five finish was the country?s first since 1999 when Miriam Quiambao placed second.

Also, that traditional beauty contest powerhouses Venezuela and USA were shut out as early as the semifinals for the first time in many years. Raj was also the only Asian candidate to make it to the top 15 this year.

To think that this young woman from Bato, Camarines Sur, was dethroned briefly, and the Philippines almost lost the chance to be represented by the determined candidate.

Some post-pageant comments by Filipinos on Facebook and Twitter stressed that Raj?s fourth runner-up showing was a welcome, if temporary, diversion from Monday?s grim hostage-taking incident in Manila and its aftermath. Malacañang?s statement was appropriately upbeat: ?[Venus?] success ... is a bright spot in an otherwise sad day for our country.?

For hundreds of Filipinos who came from all over the world to cheer the Bicolana bet, waving Philippine flags expressing support for her evoked priceless camaraderie and patriotism.

Crazy experience

?The fact that Venus was called last [when the top 15 were named] was a crazy experience,? said Yari Paris, an LA-based Fil-Am beauty pageant expert.

?We all wished she?d be called first, to confirm right away our earlier assessment that she deserved one of the top slots. Having watched the candidate for a good part of the last 12 days, I could tell she would make it, but her being called last was a scare. The floor director approached to remind me not to raise my flag because it covered the Teleprompter. That, to me, was a hint that Venus name was about to be called out.?

Paris continued: ?You should have seen the Mandalay Bay Events Center?Philippine flags all over, like it was President Noynoy?s inauguration. I jumped from my seat when Venus? name was called. I lost my Swarovski necklace but who cares??

Maxi Tone (Antonio Guino Maxino), an A-list Pinoy makeup artist in Los Angeles, said he and his friends ?cried tears of joy? when Raj got a slot in the top 15. ?When she made it to the top 5,? Tone recounted, ?we all thought, here it comes again, our biggest oversight?not having an interpreter, so every Miss Philippines could answer in the language she?s most comfortable in.?

Make or break

It turned out that Miss Mexico, who prevailed over 82 competitors from six continents to win the title, was fluent in English, but still opted for an interpreter.

The question-and-answer segment?rocker Bret Michaels and fellow emcee Natalie Morales, an NBC correspondent, repeatedly pointed out during the program?was a make-or-break portion of the tilt.

Jimena Navarrete, 22, from Guadalajara, was crowned Miss Universe 2010 after telling the audience it was important to teach children family values.

Navarrete was first to answer a question from the panel of judges. Asked by Olympic gold-medal figure skater Evan Lysacek how she felt about unsupervised Internet use, Navarrete said parents need to watch over their kids.

?I do believe that the Internet is an indispensable, necessary tool for the present time,? she said through an interpreter. ?[But] we must be sure to teach children the values that we learned as a family.?

Proclaimed first runner-up was Miss Jamaica Yendi Phillipps; second runner-up was Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell.

Navarrete, who?s been modeling since she was 15, is Mexico?s second Miss Universe. Compatriot Lupita Jones won in 1991.

Replacing Miss Universe 2009, Stefania Fernandez of Venezuela, Navarrete thwarted this year?s Miss Venezuela, Marelisa Gibson, from giving the South American country a third consecutive victory (2008 title holder was Venezuelan Dayana Mendoza). Neither Gibson nor Miss USA Rima Fakih was in the top 15.

Undisclosed salary

Navarrete was immediately congratulated on Twitter by Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his wife, Margarita Zavala.

?Congratulations to Jimena Navarrete for her deserved victory as Miss Universe,? Calderon said. ?This will serve Mexico, (and) our image as a country.?

Navarrete was crowned in a flowing, single-strap red gown. Earlier, she strutted across the stage in a purple bikini, and then in a flowing, single-strap red gown.

Still earlier, with fans in some 190 countries watching on television and keeping tabs on social networks, all 83 competitors introduced themselves while wearing over-the-top national costumes. They then danced in silver and black dresses for the show?s opening number.

The final 15 walked in swimsuits while Cirque du Soleil musicians played Elvis Presley songs including ?Viva Las Vegas.? The last 10 beauties paraded in their gowns while John Legend and The Roots performed a medley of the Grammy winner?s hit songs.

Navarrete won a package of prizes including an undisclosed salary, a luxury New York apartment with living expenses, a one-year scholarship to the New York Film Academy with housing after her reign, plus jewelry, clothes and shoes fit for a beauty champion.

Campbell won the Miss Congeniality Universe award. Miss Thailand Fonthip Watcharatrakul won two?Miss Photogenic Universe Best National Costume.

Trending thrills

By the end of the snappy two-hour show, 7 of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter had to do with the pageant, its contestants, its judges or owner Donald Trump. The mogul co-owns the pageant with TV network NBC.

Before the pageant, Venus Raj was a strong favorite in an online poll on the pageant?s website. During the program, for many Internet devotees, Facebook updates on the progress of Raj from top 15 to top 5 were sometimes more thrilling than watching the televised show. The virtual cheering was simultaneous as Raj made each cut.

In the end, many who watched at the Mandalay venue still came away impressed by Raj. Jb Adkins, US franchise holder of the Miss Philippines Earth pageant, said: ?I have been watching beauty pageants for many years. I have been here in Las Vegas for two weeks. I [witnessed] how Venus stood out from the pack. She carried herself well, lit up the room with her mere presence. She is this year?s Miss Universe in my book.?

Miss U for life

In Bato, Camarinees Sur, Venus Raj will be Miss Universe for life.

Tuesday morning in Raj?s hometown of San Vicente, her family?s simple wooden house?roofed with dried palm anahaw leaves and walled with woven bamboo?in the middle of a rice field, was covered with tarpaulins of all sizes and colors.

?We love you Venus,? said one. And another: ?Ika ang Miss Universe kan buhay mi,? (You are the Miss Universe of our lives). The tarps were from the local government and other organizations that supported the beauty queen.

Her fourth runner-up finish was cause for widespread celebration, even in the nearby villages, reported Bato Vice Mayor Ruben C. Pili. The day had been declared a special holiday so the townsfolk could watch the pageant on television.

Pili said big plans were afoot for the homecoming of their homegrown beauty queen.

Meanwhile, nearly the whole of San Vicente gathered at Raj?s home, around a huge TV set provided by Rep. Luis Villafuerte.

One resident likened the event to a Manny Pacquiao fight, with people glued to the screen.

Raj?s mother, Ester Bayonito, was supposed to be at the pageant in Las Vegas, but ran into problems with her travel documents. She watched the pageant from Antipolo, Rizal.

She was seen on television earlier?on ABS-CBN?s ?Simply KC??proud, hopeful and tearful. ?You are always a winner for me, nene (child), Bayonito said, recalling the time when she was offered $60,000 for her newborn Venus (youngest of five children).

?I did not even think about it,? Bayonito said. ?I was sure I wanted to raise her myself, and I never regretted that decision.? With reports from AP; Shiena Barrameda, Paul John Barrosa; and Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon