Miss Universe Philippines 2026 was the seventh edition of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant, held at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, on May 2, 2026. The event was hosted by Filipino drag performer Marina Summers and featured a performance from Filipino boy band BGYO and singer Jason Dy.
Bea Millan-Windorski of La Union won the competition, succeeding Ahtisa Manalo of Quezon. She will represent the Philippines at Miss Universe 2026. Selected candidates from this batch also received titles from the pageant's sister organization, The Miss Philippines.
Contestants from 50 localities competed for the title. This edition introduced a new format for the contest, which features a preliminary competition taking place over a month with semifinalists determined through the selection committee's choices and rounds of public voting.
Location
On January 25, 2026, Miss Universe Philippines Organization began introducing updated branding for the seventh edition aligned with that of the international pageant. The following day, Mags Cue, a vice president of the organization, hinted at a "spectacular" event slated for February, later revealed to be the competition's opening press presentation. During the said event, the organization announced Misamis Occidental as the edition's host province with Pangasinan and Boracay serving as hosts for the national costume and swimsuit competitions, respectively.
On March 15, the organization scheduled the coronation night for May 1, designating the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay as the venue for the fifth consecutive year. The organizers later moved the schedule to May 2, citing logistical concerns. Ronald King of King Design Studio designed the stage for this edition which he titled "Lunduyan", featuring a blueprint frame inspired by the building of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila.
Selection of participants Contestants from 51 localities (26 provinces, 18 cities and 7 municipalities) were selected from local and regional pageants organized by accredited partners of the competition. Voltaire Tayag, the organization's executive vice president, considered this year's batch as among the "strongest" so far. The competitors were formally announced on February 16 during a two-part event that began with a parade at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay titled "The First Walk" and continued into a by-invitation event at the City of Dreams Manila in Parañaque titled "The Reveal".
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. 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.
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. 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. According to her, the individual entered the contest representing another locality. Online personalities cited by the Philippine Daily Inquirer identified Lyneree Montero-Yodong of Mountain Province as the supposed replacement.
Midway through the competition, Kathleen Caseñas switched her locality from Batangas to Bohol. The organization for the former province previously stripped Caseñas of her title after "accumulated violations and unresolved concerns" and a communication breakdown.
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. However, she rescinded her decision a day later after reportedly reconciling with her organization.
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. 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. Schweighart would later be announced as a candidate to the MGI All Stars 1st Edition more than a week later. Just before the coronation night, she withdrew from the competition after settling with the organizers. Results
Placements
Placement Contestant Miss Universe Philippines 2026 La Union – Bea Millan-Windorski Top 7 Cebu – Nicole Borromeo Cebu City – Apriel Smith Pampanga – Allyson Hetland Sultan Kudarat – Jenrose Javier Taguig – Bella Ysmael Tarlac – Marian Arellano Top 15 Baguio – Roxie Baeyens Camiguin – Erica Cadayday Iloilo City – Zestah Espinosa Negros Occidental – Alex Colmenares Manila – Justine Felizarta Muntinlupa – Adela-Mae Marshall Quezon – Ella Evangelista Tacloban – Jacqueline Gulrajani Top 30 Albay – Alexandra Oriño Cavite – Jencel Caña Cotabato – Clarissa Westram Iligan – Trexy Roxas Ilocos Norte – Charieze Cacayorin Laguna – Ysabel Prats Luisiana – Ashley Subijano Mountain Province – Lyneree Montero-Yodong Pangasinan – Donna Nuguid Rizal – Alicia Buendia Samar Island – Catherine Wardle San Jose, Negros Oriental – Jayka Munsayac Santo Tomas, La Union – Rachel-Hanna Gozum Sarangani – Nicole Cruz Tandag – Chrystel Correos
Notes
Appointments On May 10, The Miss Philippines organization appointed candidates from this batch to compete in different international beauty pageants as titleholders.
TitleContestant International Placement The Miss Philippines Supranational 2027 Pampanga – Allyson Hetland – Miss Supranational 2027 The Miss Philippines Worldwide 2027 Cebu – Nicole Borromeo – Miss Worldwide 2027 The Miss Philippines Eco International 2027 Sultan Kudarat – Jenrose Javier – Miss Eco International 2027 The Miss Philippines Cosmo 2026 Taguig – Bella Ysmael – Miss Cosmo 2026 The Miss Philippines Charm 2026 Cebu City – Apriel Smith – Miss Charm 2026 The Miss Philippines Tourism World 2026 Tarlac – Marian Arellano – Miss Tourism World 2026 The Miss Philippines Teen Universe 2026 Samar Island – Catherine Wardle – Miss Teen Universe 2026 The Miss Philippines Eco Teen 2026 Iligan – Trexy Roxas – Miss Eco Teen International 2026
Special awards Before the winner was announced, three special awards were given. Award Contestant Miss Congeniality Las Piñas – Avegail Kultsar Miss Photogenic Pateros – Kristen Marcelino Best in Swimsuit Manila – Justine Felizarta
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. Award Contestant Faces of Mags Baguio – Roxie Baeyens Cebu – Nicole Borromeo La Union – Bea Millan-Windorski Negros Occidental – Alex Colmenares Tacloban – Jacqueline Gulrajani Maya Poll Winner Manila – Justine Felizarta Miss Abu Cebu – Nicole Borromeo Miss Ever Bilena Miss Great Lengths iColor Miss Zleep by Zion Miss Jell Life Beauties Cebu – Nicole Borromeo La Union – Bea Millan-Windorski Miss AMORAP La Union – Bea Millan-Windorski Miss Aqua Boracay Miss Belo Miss Bench Miss Honor 600 Miss New Moon Miss Safatos Marikina Miss Urban Smiles Miss Vitress Miss Wendy's Miss Wuling Miss Zion Miss Bench Body Pampanga – Allyson Hetland Miss Cignal Bohol – Kathleen Caseñas Miss DLN Taguig – Bella Ysmael Miss Maya Miss Pantene Miss Glen Photogenic Pateros – Kristen Marcelino Miss Pina Beauty Muntinlupa – Adela-Mae Marshall Sarangani – Nicole Cruz Sultan Kudarat – Jenrose Javier Miss Playtime Albay – Alexandra Oriño Miss Tipco Occidental Mindoro – Niel Silva Miss Zylo by Zion Baguio – Roxie Baeyens Queens of Pablo Baguio – Roxie Baeyens Cebu City – Apriel Smith Muntinlupa – Adela-Mae Marshall Taguig – Bella Ysmael
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. Award Contestant Ambassadress of Goodwill Cebu – Nicole Borromeo Ambassadress of Agriculture Iligan – Trexy Roxas Ambassadress of Health Camiguin – Erica Cadayday Ambassadress of Social Services Nueva Vizcaya – Jacqueline Aluning Ambassadress of Education Cotabato – Clarissa Westram
Pageant
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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
Selection committee
Carlos Garcia Candal – chief executive officer of GMG Productions (as preliminary and finals judge) Gazini Ganados – Miss Universe Philippines 2019 (as preliminary and finals judge) Ida Aldana – executive editor at Cosmopolitan Philippines (as finals judge) Pewee Isidro – editor-in-chief of Mega Magazine (as finals judge) Crystal Jacinto – founder of Villa Medica Philippines (as finals judge) Hayden Kho – co-chairman of Belo (as finals judge) Bryan Lim – vice president of Suyen Corporation (as finals judge) Jennylyn Mercado – actress (as finals judge) Rhett Eala – fashion designer (as finals judge) Na Zhao – Miss Universe Asia 2025 (as finals judge) Ariella Arida – national director and Miss Universe Philippines 2013 (as preliminary judge) Tes Parado Aranda – director of City of Dreams Manila (as preliminary judge) Joy Marcelo – vice president of Sparkle GMA Artist Center (as preliminary judge) Miguel Pastor - Bench corporate architect (as preliminary judge) Voltaire Tayag – executive vice president (as preliminary judge)