New rules, more crowns: A rundown of big changes in the PH pageant scene

Since the easing of pandemic restrictions, both the local and international pageant scenes have bounced back significantly, with most pageants resuming their annual editions. 

Already known to be a pageant powerhouse, the Philippines continues to make a mark – with many of our Filipino beauty queens faring well in several international competitions. 

And these achievements come despite the number of shake-ups in the national pageant scene! Not only have there been changes among the local organizers, but notable new rules have also been established. While these developments might be confusing and hard to keep track of, there’s no denying how they make this already aggressive industry even more exciting. 

Binibining Pilipinas

One of the local competitions that had undergone momentous changes in the past year is the Binibining Pilipinas pageant. 

For its 2022 edition, they chose queens to represent the country in the Miss International, Miss Globe, Miss Grand International, and Miss Intercontinental pageants. 

But for its 2023 edition, only the Miss International and Miss Globe titles have remained. 

In November 2022, Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) announced their withdrawal from the Miss Grand International (MGI) pageant. 

BPCI didn’t expound on the reason for their withdrawal, but it can be noted that since MGI started in 2013, no Filipina beauty queen has taken home the golden crown. The Philippines’ highest placing in the pageant is 1st runner-up via Nicole Cordoves (2016) and Samantha Bernardo (2021). 

For its 2022 pageant, Philippine bet Roberta Tamondong initially finished as part of the Top 20, but shortly got appointed as a new fifth runner-up following the resignation of one of the original placers. 

In March, ALV Pageant Circle – the organization behind the Miss World Philippines competition – announced that they were opening applications for the Miss Grand Philippines pageant. As of writing, they have yet to announce the list of the candidates taking part in the competition and a target coronation date. This would be the first time that Miss Grand Philippines would be a standalone competition. 

Meanwhile, the Miss Intercontinental organization announced in February its new partnership with Mutya ng Pilipinas, who will be in charge of staging the local edition of its 2023 pageant. 

Reigning Mutya ng Pilipinas Iona Gibbs was also appointed as the Philippines’ representative for the Miss Intercontinental 2023 pageant. Binibining Pilipinas Intercontinental 2022 Gabrielle Basiano finished as part of the Top 20 in the pageant held in Egypt.  The Philippines has two Miss Intercontinental crowns: Karen Gallman (2018) and Cinderella Obeñita (2021).

The 2023 edition would be the first time for the Binibining Pilipinas pageant to have only a handful of titles, as it has enjoyed a history of crowning the country’s representatives for Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss Supranational pageants. 

Binibining Pilipinas 2019 had six crowns, while the 2020/2021 and 2022 editions had four. It remains unclear whether BPCI has acquired a new pageant franchise that will be part of their 2023 pageant. 

The Binibining Pilipinas 2023 competition is underway, with the coronation night set for May 28. 40 candidates are competing to take the reins from titleholders Binibining Pilipinas 2022 Nicole Borromeo and Binibining Pilipinas Globe Chelsea Fernandez. 

Nicole will be representing the Philippines in the Miss International 2023 pageant happening in Japan in October. She will be competing in the hopes of winning the country’s seventh Miss International crown. 

Meanwhile, Chelsea ended her Miss Globe stint as part of the Top 15. The Philippines has two Miss Globe crowns: Ana Colis (2018) and Maureen Montagne (2021).

BPCI is owned by the Araneta Group, with Stella Araneta as the head of the organization. 

Miss Universe Philippines

Since 2020, the Philippines’ representative for the Miss Universe competition has been chosen by the Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) organization, which is headed by Miss Universe 2011 third runner-up Shamcey Supsup and beauty queen maker Jonas Gaffud. 

The Miss Universe Philippines competition has seen significant changes in recent years, including the removal of the height requirement, starting with 100 delegates, and having the candidates undergo several remote online challenges. 

The online challenges were retained for its 2023 edition, but compared to the previous years – 100 delegates for 2021 and 50 for 2022 – the competition started with only 40 beauty queens. 

The most groundbreaking for the 2023 pageant, though, is the participation of three mothers – a first in the pageant’s history. In September 2022, the Miss Universe organization announced that the 72nd edition of its pageant would now allow moms and wives to participate in the competition.

The Miss Universe Philippines 2023 delegates will battle it out to succeed Celeste Cortesi. 

In January, Celeste failed to advance to the Top 16 of the Miss Universe competition held in the USA – marking the end of the Philippines’ 12-year streak of entering the pageant’s semi-finals round. 

The streak started in 2010, when Venus Raj placed 4th runner-up, and from then to 2022, all of the country’s representatives have finished their Miss Universe stints as semi-finalists, including two crowns courtesy of Pia Wurtzbach in 2015 and Catriona Gray in 2018. 

The Philippines has four Miss Universe crowns: Gloria Diaz  (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Wurtzbach, and Gray. 

The Miss Universe Philippines 2023 coronation night is set for May 13. 

MUPH has earlier teased that apart from the Miss Universe Philippines crown, two other crowns will be up for grabs, though the pageant has yet to reveal additional details about it, as of writing. If this will push through, this would be the first time in MUPH’s almost four-year history to have three crowns, as the competition has only focused on choosing a representative for the Miss Universe competition. 

Miss World Philippines

Another national pageant that has several titles under its belt is the Miss World Philippines. The franchise is owned by ALV Pageant Circle, with Arnold Vegafria supervising. 

The annual competition selects queens to represent the Philippines in the Miss World, Reina Hispanoamericana, Miss Eco Interantional, Miss Eco Teen, and Miss Supranational pageants. 

However, in February, ALV Pageant Circle announced that they’ve terminated its contract with the Miss Supranational franchise. 

The cancellation came months after they announced in December 2022 that Miss Supranational was supposed to be a standalone competition starting in 2023. Applications for the pageant ran from December 2022 to January 2023, with a pageant night even slated for March. 

ALV Pageant Circle had acquired the Miss Supranational franchise in 2020, after its eight years with BPCI. 

As of writing, there’s still no news as to where the Miss Supranational franchise will move. In November 2022, Miss Supranational announced that they’ve raised their age limit to 32 years old, instead of 28. 

The title of Miss Supranational Philippines is currently being held by Alison Black, who finished in the Top 24 in the international pageant. The Philippines has only won the Miss Supranational title once, with Mutya Daul in 2013. 

Miss World Philippines has yet to announce application details for its 2023 pageant, with the current title holders being: Gwendolyne Fourniol (Miss World Philippines), Ashley Subijano Montenegro (Miss Eco Philippines), Ingrid Santamaria (Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas), and Beatriz Mclelland (Miss Eco Teen Philippines). 

Gwendolyne will be competing in the hopes of winning the Philippines’ second Miss World crown, following 2013’s Megan Young. The coronation night will take place in May in the United Arab Emirates, but final details have yet to be announced. 

Ashley finished in the Miss Eco International pageant as part of the Top 21. The Philippines has two Miss Eco International titles: Cynthia Thomalla (2018) and Kathleen Paton (2022). 

Bea placed as 1st runner-up in the Miss Eco Teen competition. The Philippines has only won the Miss Eco Teen title once – through Roberta Tamondong in 2020. 

Ingrid concluded her Reina Hispanoamericana journey in the Top 14. The Philippines has only one Reina Hispanoamericana win, courtesy of Teresita Marquez in 2017. 

The Miss World Philippines 2022 edition also saw the competition’s runners-up having titles. Justine Felizarte, who placed as first princess, was appointed as Miss Philippines Tourism 2022. She finished as 1st runner-up in the Miss Tourism World competition. Michelle Reyes remains to be the only Filipina to take home the Miss Tourism World title. She won it in 2002.

Miss Earth Philippines

Miss Earth Philippines remains a solo pageant, crowning only one queen who will represent the country for an international competition. Owned and run by Carousel Productions, the Miss Earth Philippines competition focuses on raising awareness about environmental preservation. 

Yllana Maria Aduana was named Miss Earth Philippines 2023, and she will compete in hopes of clinching the Philippines’ fifth Miss Earth crown following Karla Henry (2008), Jamie Herrell (2014), Angelia Ong (2015), and Karen Ibasco (2017). 

While these are considered to be the four major titles in the pageant scene, there are also other competitions that are making waves online. Other pageant aficionados are even making predictions as to which of these competitions, such as Miss Charm and Miss CosmoWorld, will be absorbed by the organizations for their national pageants. 

Annabelle McDonnell, who finished as first runner-up in the Miss Universe Philippines 2022 pageant, was appointed as Miss Charm Philippines 2023 in November 2022. She finished as 1st runner-up in the Miss Charm 2023 competition held in Vietnam in February. 

Meiji Cruz, who previously finished as 2nd runner-up in Binibining Pilipinas 2021, was named Miss CosmoWorld 2022 during the finals night held in Malaysia. In early April, the Philippines’ local franchise of the pageant was launched. 

Other notable placements in the international pageant by Filipina beauty queens include: Shyrla Nuñez as 4th runner-up in Miss Supermodel Worldwide 2023; Maria Luisa Varela as Miss Planet International 2023; Camelle Mercado as Miss United Contents 2022; Michelle Arceo as 1st runner-up in Miss Environment International 2022; Shane Tormes as Miss Global 2022; Shannon Tampon as 1st runner-up in Miss Elite 2022, and Fuschia Anne Ravena as Miss International Queen 2022, among others. – Rappler.com