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MANILA, Philippines – The Miss Universe Philippines organization named its 2023 queens on Saturday, May 13, through a four-hour coronation night characterized by a series of firsts and production blunders.
The night’s festivities opened with the 38 delegates strutting the Mall of Asia Arena stage while wearing black ensembles and being serenaded by Filipino act SV Squad.
All photos by Rob Reyes.
Filipino actors Xian Lim and Alden Richards and Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi served as the main hosts, with Tim Yap and Miss Globe 2022 Maureen Montagne as the backstage hosts.
Shortly after the opening number, the recipients of the special awards were announced: Miss Friendship went to Capiz’s Shayne Glenmae Maquiran, while Jannarie Zarzoso of Agusan del Norte received the Face of Social Media award. There was a mix-up between the announcement of the two awards, as host Richards initially called Zarzoso as Miss Friendship.
After the announcement of the special awardees, the host went straight to announcing the Top 18. Zarzoso, who won the glam shot challenge; Bohol’s Pauline Amelinckx, who won the swimsuit challenge; and Pampanga’s Angelique Manto, who won the runway challenge; were the first delegates to be called to advance to the next round.
The 2023 edition is the first time for the Miss Universe pageant to allow mothers and wives to be part of the competition. Out of the 38 Miss Universe Philippines 2023 delegates, three were mothers, but only Clare Dacanay of Parañaque made it to the semifinals.
The competition got fierce then, as the semifinalists showed off their physiques wearing blue two-piece swimsuits. Baguio’s Krishnah Marie Gravidez was named Best in Swimsuit.
After the swimsuit segment, the Top 10 were then announced. Online, pageant fans and supporters were quick to express their sentiments on the non-advancement of Manto and Cebu Province’s Emmanuelle Vera to the next round.
While the pacing from the opening number to the announcement of the Top 10 was seemingly fast, the pageant finals then underwent a 30-minute commercial gap before the program continued. Tension and confusion arose when host Lim then announced that there was a technical difficulty that had led them to do manual tallying instead. The tabulation error forced the cancellation of the Top 10, and the pageant then reverted to having all of the Top 18 compete for a spot in the Top 5.
Despite the major blunder, the Top 18 ladies still brought out their best walks for the evening gown portion, wearing dresses by local designers. Makati’s Michelle Marquez Dee was hailed Best in Evening Gown.
In between the program, South Korean singer and INFINITE member Nam Woo-hyun entertained the crowd with his performances.
Taking a breather from the tight competition, American Idol alumna Jessica Sanchez then performed in front of the crowd. Her number was interspersed with speeches from Miss Universe Philippines national director Shamcey Supsup and Miss Universe 2022 R’Bonney Gabriel.
Supsup, who spoke about the influence of this year’s competition, however, did not offer an explanation about the technical difficulty that happened earlier in the pageant. Pageant fans and supporters have taken to social media to ask for an explanation from the organization, but as of writing, MUPH has yet to release a statement.
Meanwhile, Gabriel talked about the true essence of being a woman. “To me, the definition and the true essence of a woman is one that can identify not only in her personal strengths, but she can also bring strength in other women,” she said.
The announcement of the Top 5 then commenced – Baguio’s Gravidez, Pampanga’s Manto, Bohol’s Amelinckx, Zambales’ Christine Opiaza, and Makati’s Dee. It can be noted that Manto’s inclusion in the Top 5 came as a shock since she wasn’t part of the announced Top 10, before the organizers called it off.
The remaining candidates then faced two rounds of Question and Answer. In the first part, the five delegates answered different questions from their respective judges, while the second part saw them answering the same question: “Recently, the Department of Tourism has adopted a new branding campaign: ‘We give the world our best.’ For you, what is the best that we could offer the rest of the world? Why do you consider it so?’
As the deliberation on the winner was underway, Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi took her final walk. “To be lost in the memories of the past or to be caught up overthinking about the future is being absent from the only thing really existing, which is right now,” the Filipino-Italian beauty queen said, who couldn’t help but get emotional in her final message.
At the end of the night, Makati’s Michelle Marquez Dee took home the Miss Universe Philippines 2023 title, with Zambales’ Christine Julianne Opiaza and Pampanga’s Angelique Manto being named as the 1st and 2nd runner-up, respectively.
But the announcement didn’t stop during the coronation ceremony. Shortly after the live telecast, the MUPH organization named Bohol’s Pauline Amelinckx as Miss Supranational Philippines 2023 and Baguio’s Krishnah Marie Gravidez as Miss Charm Philippines 2023.
This is the first time in its four-year history that MUPH has handed out three titles, as the competition had only focused on choosing a representative for the Miss Universe competition. As of writing, MUPH has yet to post about Amelinckx and Gravidez’ appointments on their social media pages. The organization also did not disclose as to why the other crowns were handed out in a separate ceremony.
Dee, Amelinckx, and Gravidez will be representing the Philippines in their respective international pageants slated later this year. – Rappler.com
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