Miss Universe Philippines 2026

Debuts and returns

This edition marks the debuts of cities of Dasmariñas and San Carlos, Pangasinan, the municipalities of Luisiana, Pateros, San Jose, Negros Oriental, Santo Tomas, La Union, Taal, Batangas, the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Cotabato, Mountain Province, and Sarangani, and the overseas Filipino societies in Saudi Arabia, the Canadian province of Alberta, and the U.S. cities of Bellevue, Washington and Seattle.^[15] Additionally, this edition features the returns of La Union and Rizal which both last competed in 2020; Nueva Vizcaya which last competed in 2022; Negros Oriental and Southern Leyte which both last competed in 2023; and Cabanatuan, Cebu and Palawan which all last competed in 2024.

Withdrawals and replacements

For this edition, no candidates were sent by accredited partners in Angeles City, Bago, Negros Occidental, Basey, Samar, Benguet, Batangas, Bulacan, Butuan, Caloocan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Davao Region, Dipolog, Dumaguete, Guipos, Ifugao, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Lapu-Lapu City, Liliw, Lucena, Malay, Aklan, Naga, Camarines Sur, Naic, Oriental Mindoro, Ozamiz, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City, Quirino, Romblon, San Fernando, Cebu, San Jose, Batangas, Siargao, and Siniloan.^[16]

Leading up to the press presentation, Cristeta Longey, who was set to represent Benguet, resigned her title and withdrew from the competition without a replacement.^[17] She cited a lack of transparency and support from her local organization as another individual was said to be undergoing training to represent the province in the pageant.^[18] According to her, the individual entered the contest representing another locality.^[18] Online personalities cited by the Philippine Daily Inquirer identified Lyneree Montero-Yodong of Mountain Province as the supposed replacement.^[19]

Midway through the competition, Kathleen Caseñas switched her locality from Batangas to Bohol.^[20] The organization for the former province previously stripped Caseñas of her title after "accumulated violations and unresolved concerns" and a communication breakdown.^[21]

Issues and conflicts

A day before the press presentation, Renee Rose Patual of Southern Leyte announced her withdrawal from the competition to prioritize her health, citing a lack of updates and support from her local organization.^[22] However, she rescinded her decision a day later after reportedly reconciling with her organization.^[23][24]

On March 28, the organization announced the removal of a candidate from the competition following the issuance of verbal and written guidance, decreasing the number of contestants to 50.^[25][26] Due to her omission in promotional material and absence in the preliminary competition, media outlets speculated that Imelda Schweighart of Kalibo, Aklan, was the sanctioned individual. The organizers denied the speculations and withheld the identity of the disqualified contestant pending the resolution of legal proceedings.^[27] Schweighart would later be announced as a candidate to the MGI All Stars 1st Edition more than a week later.^[28][29] Just before the coronation night, she withdrew from the competition after settling with the organizers.^[30]

Placements

Notes

Appointments

On May 10, the organization will appoint candidates from this batch to compete in four international beauty pageants as titleholders under The Miss Philippines.^[35][36]

Special awards

Before the winner was announced, three special awards were given.^[37]

Sponsor awards

A total of 24 awards were given by the pageant's sponsors. Of these, three awards—those given by Maya, Pina Beauty and Playtime Entertainment—advanced their winner to the top 30.^[34]

Five Gems of Misamis Occidental awards

As part of the pageant's activities in Misamis Occidental, five candidates were named as the "five gems" of the province, with the first-ranked candidate being named as the local ambassadress of goodwill, and the rest being assigned to represent the province's programs in agriculture, health, social services, and education.^[38]

Format

The pageant introduced a new format for the 2026 edition, which features a month-long preliminary competition composed of three rounds: evening gown, preliminary interview, and swimsuit.^[12][13] In each round, around ten contestants are eliminated from the pre-pageant contest: 40 delegates remain after the first round, 31 after the second, and 20 after the final round, at which point they are named semifinalists.^[40] The first half of the contestants that advance following each round are selected through public voting via the Philippine online payment app Maya, while the rest come from the selection committee’s choices.^[20][41]

Apart from the preliminary competition, wildcard selection and brand awards—including the People's Choice Award—each send five candidates to the semifinals. In total, 30 delegates advance to the coronation night.^[42]

On the coronation night, the semifinalists compete in the swimsuit competition, from which 15 candidates are selected to advance. Afterward, the evening gown competition trims the pool of contestants to seven, where the winner, her runners-up, are named.^[43]

Selection committee

In addition to the judges, selected members of the public vote together in real time as an additional judge in each stage of the finals.^[45][46]

Presenters

The finale was presented by drag performer Marina Summers, who is the first transgender woman to serve that role in the pageant's history.^[47][48][49] In addition to her, a number of "special guests" introduced the segments of the competition.^[50][51]

Broadcast

The pageant was telecast live on One PH, with a concurrent livestream on YouTube channel of Empire Philippines and the mobile app of satellite provider Cignal. A delayed telecast will also air on TV5 the following day.^[52][53][54] All three rounds of the preceding preliminary competition were broadcast on the YouTube channels of Empire Philippines and Playtime Entertainment.^[55]

The event featured performances from P-pop group BGYO and singer Jason Dy.^[56][57]

Preliminary competition

Quick facts External videos ...

External videos
Evening Gown segment
Preliminary Top 40 announcement
Preliminary Interview segment
Preliminary Top 31 announcement
Swimsuit segment

Close

The preliminary competition was taped behind closed doors on March 29 at the City of Dreams Manila in Parañaque, with the segments premiering weekly the following month. Each round of public voting begins after the premiere of their respective segment. Public voting for the evening gown competition ran from April 5 to 11, followed by the closed-door interviews from April 12 to 18, and the swimsuit competition from April 19 to 25.^[58]

The first ten semifinalists of the Top 20 determined by public vote were announced on April 25, while the remaining semifinalists selected by the selection committee were revealed during the finals.^[59]

People's Choice Award

Public voting for the People's Choice Award determines three semifinalists, with the awardee advancing directly to the final round and the second-placer advancing to the top 15.^[63] The competition is sponsored by skincare brand Piña Beauty, which counts select soap bar sales toward the public vote.^[64]

National costume competition

The national costume competition was held on April 16 at the Urdaneta City Cultural and Sports Center in Urdaneta, Pangasinan, with Gabbi Carballo seving as the host.^[66][67] This year's entries were themed after the country's bodies of water, and at the end of the event, the six best designs were announced in no particular order.^[67][68]

Other events

Leading up to the coronation night, a variety of events were held as part of the pageant. On March 22, a swimsuit show was held in Boracay which named 12 "Aqua Angels" among the candidates, who are finalists for the Miss Aqua Boracay award.^[69] On April 9, a runway show was held in Taguig which selected five finalists for the Miss Ever Bilena award, with the winner receiving a cash prize of ₱10,000 and brand products worth ₱20,000.^[70] During the pageant's activities in Misamis Occidental, the delegates competed in a special swimsuit competition on April 24 for a cash prize of ₱300,000 and the tourism ambassadorship of the province. The top eight candidates from the show, including the winner, are also named Queens of Amorap.^[71]