The crowning of Bea Windorski as the new Miss Universe Philippines has once again triggered a familiar debate: is she “Filipino enough?”

Critics point to the fact that she was born and raised in Wisconsin, once represented the United States in another pageant, and only recently obtained a Philippine passport. 

Perhaps the better question to ask is: who decides what makes one a Filipino?

The Philippines has always been a nation shaped by migration, sacrifice, and separation. Millions of Filipinos leave home not because they want to discard their identity, but because their survival demands it. 

Overseas Filipino workers spend years away from home so their children can have the opportunities they never had. Many of their children grow up studying in foreign schools, speaking with foreign accents, and navigating cultures far different from their parents’ — but that does not erase the blood, history, and sacrifices that firmly tie them to this country.

To dismiss them for where they were born or raised is to misunderstand the very story of the Filipino family itself and its struggles for dignity.

Legally, the issue is not debatable. Article IV, Section 1 of the Constitution clearly states that those whose father or mother is a Filipino citizen at the time of their birth are themselves Filipino citizens. The Philippines follows the doctrine of jus sanguinis, citizenship by bloodline, not jus soli, or citizenship determined by birthplace.  

In other words, Philippine citizenship is inherited through parentage, not geography. Bea Windorski did not become Filipino only when she obtained a Philippine passport, as some claim. Through her mother, she has always been Filipino by constitutional right.

But beyond the law lies something even deeper.

Being Filipino has never been measured solely by the accent, residency, or fluency in the languages Filipinos speak. If that were the standard, millions of overseas Filipinos and their children would forever be treated as outsiders of a homeland they continue to love from afar. 

Filipino identity is not confined by borders. It lives in values: resilience despite hardship, compassion through struggle, the instinct to sacrifice for family, and the ability to rise no matter where life places you.

A true Filipino carries that spirit wherever they go, whether in Manila, Wisconsin, USA, Germany, Dubai, or Toronto, Canada.

Representing the Philippines on the international stage is a serious responsibility, and scrutiny naturally comes with the crown. But perhaps candidates should be judged less by online gatekeeping and more by their character, sincerity, and capacity to represent the country with pride and dignity.

As the Miss Universe 2026 pageant approaches in Puerto Rico, Bea Windorski has an opportunity to define herself not through internet arguments, but through her grace, intelligence, and authenticity.

Perhaps in doing so, she may remind us of a truth many Filipinos abroad have long understood: being Filipino is not limited by geography. It is carried in the heart, and no border can take that away.