Make this your preferred source to get more updates from this publisher on Google.
Bea Millan-Windorski set the record straight on questions surrounding her citizenship and residency following her Miss Universe Philippines 2026 victory.
On Wednesday’s “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda,” the beauty queen addressed critics who raised doubts about her Filipino identity, saying “I’ve actually been a Filipino citizen ever since I was born.”
She explained her mother registered her birth with the Philippine Embassy in the United States.
“Under RA 9225, if you are a Filipino citizen born to a Filipino mother or father, as long as they register your birth, your citizenship is reacquired,” Bea said.
The beauty queen also shared that while she has long held dual citizenship documents, obtaining a Philippine passport only came later when she moved to the country.
“Once I moved here to the Philippines, that’s when I started the very long process of obtaining your passport. I’ve always had my dual citizenship documentation, but you need that passport to open a bank account, to access things like your National ID,” she said.
Bea said she has been living in the Philippines for a year and a half, but her ties to the country go back much further.
“I’ve been visiting the Philippines ever since noong bata ako. I have a permanent residence in San Juan, La Union, because that’s where my grandparents live. They moved here after I was born. So, every two, three years, whenever we could afford it, we would visit them here. And that’s why I really felt like I was lucky to grow up in two homes, both here and in the United States,” she said.
Bea represented La Union and bested 49 other candidates during the national pageant on Saturday.
During the question and answer round, she was asked: “Many Filipinos are getting frustrated with the country. For you, why is it still worth it to represent the Philippines on the global stage?”
Bea highlighted her Filipina identity and experiences growing up in a predominantly non-diverse community in the United States.
“The Philippines is something and a place that I’ve been in love with my whole life. Growing up in a predominantly non-diverse part of the United States, I was identified as Filipina first and foremost. I often had to point where the Philippines was on a map to my peers, and I always felt a sense of belonging and home,” she said.
“I chose to pack my life into balikbayan boxes and suitcases because I believe in the limitless potential of the Filipino people and the fact that we need to create local opportunities here so that people don’t have to go abroad and be separated from their families in order to survive and thrive. If I were given the title of Miss Universe Philippines, I promise to be a public servant for all,” she added.
Bea will represent the Philippines in the Miss Universe 2026 pageant in November in Puerto Rico. — LA, GMA News
