The Miss Universe Philippines Organization (MUPH) seeks to revolutionize the national pageant scene this year with a new format that will hopefully provide more excitement for fans.
“I’m here to tell you that in Miss Universe Philippines, always be at your peak. And to put that into action, we are introducing a new selection format that is intended to rally the public support for the delegates,” MUPH Executive Vice President Voltaire Tayag said at the presentation of the 2026 pageant’s delegates at the grand ballroom of City of Dreams in Parañaque City on Monday afternoon, Feb. 16.
Under the new format, the crucial preliminary rounds of competition in Evening Gown, Swimsuit, and Closed-Door will be done in stages and will be open for voting.
All preliminary competitions will be conducted and filmed in March. These will be released in tranches in April, with the first round being the evening gown segment.
The leading ladies from the first round based on public votes will qualify for the swimsuit round, which will come out next. The interview round will be the last segment up for voting.
But the ladies who will not move on to the succeeding rounds of voting will still be part of the competition until the coronation night. There will be “selection panel choices,” “brand award choices,” and “wildcard picks” who will be announced at the finals and will proceed to the semifinals, Tayag explained.
The public will also be involved in choosing the new queen on coronation day. Fans will be given the chance to have a say as judges through their votes. The mechanics will be announced later on the pageant’s social media pages.
Even before the event at City of Dreams, MUPH had already offered an unprecedented treat to avid pageant fans when, for the first time ever, the delegates took part in a parade at the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City, also on Monday afternoon.
This year’s competition is seeking the successor of Ahtisa Manalo, who finished third runner-up in the 2025 Miss Universe pageant in Thailand. The new queen will compete in the 75th edition of the international competition in Puerto Rico later this year.
As in the previous editions, this year’s pageant also attracted familiar faces, among them are returning delegates Ysabella Ysmael of Taguig City and Apriel Smith of Cebu City, first runner-up and finalist in the inaugural edition in 2020, respectively.
Also in the fray are Miss Earth-Water titleholders Bea Millan-Windorski of La Union and Roxie Baeyens of Baguio City, and 2023 Miss International third runner-up Nicole Borromeo of Cebu Province.
Joining them are 2023 Miss Tourism World first runner-up Justine Felizarta of Manila, 2023 Miss Eco International semifinalist Ashley Subijano of Luisiana, Laguna, and resigned Miss Philippines-Earth 2016 Imelda Schweighart of Kalibo, Aklan. (Armin P. Adina © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
