MAKATI CITY, Philippines — As in its maiden edition last year, the Miss Universe Philippines (MUPh) pageant will once again show the crucial portions of the contest this year, making the preliminary interview, swimsuit, and gown competitions open to the public.
To engage the pageant’s followers more, and lend transparency to the selection process, MUPh is offering “season passes” to interested fans who would want to have exclusive access to the aspirants’ journey every step of the way.
MUPh announced on social media that those who avail themselves of the pass will gain access to the digital streaming of the most important stages of the pageant, including an extended edition of the coronation ceremonies where some of the country’s best artists will perform.
Four productions will be made available via the ktx.ph streaming platform, with a season pass costing P599.
The pageant released the names of the 100 delegates chosen to take part in this year’s competition on July 19, in a series of posts on social media.
Among this year’s aspirants are accomplished beauty queens and other popular TV personalities.
Arguably the most famous of the roster is German-Filipino model Maureen Wroblewitz, the first Filipino winner of the regional reality competition “Asia’s Next Top Model.”
Iloilo, meanwhile, bats for a back-to-back win after Rabiya Mateo’s triumph last year with 2018 Mutya ng Pilipinas Kheshapornam Ramachandran.
The part-Malaysian, part-Indian Ramachandran was supposed to participate in the Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International pageant, but the global tilt was not staged.
Another Mutya alumnae throwing her hat in the ring is 2015 Mutya ng Pilipinas-Tourism International Janela Joy Cuaton, who finished second in the 2016 Miss Tourism Metropolitan contest in Cambodia.
Also in the running is 2012 Binibining Pilipinas-Tourism Katrina Jayne Dimaranan, who was not able to represent the Philippines in any international competition during her reign as a national queen.
She got her golden opportunity to sashay on the global arena when she competed in the 2018 Miss Supranational pageant in Poland where she finished second. However, she represented the United States in the said pageant.
The American franchise holders appointed her to represent the US, where she had been based for most of her life.
But perhaps the most accomplished queen in the race is Leren Mae Bautista from Los Baños, Laguna.
The 28-year-old model was crowned Miss Los Baños, Binibining Laguna, and Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International in 2015.
She became the first, and so far only, Filipino woman to bring home the Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International crown when she bested 55 other delegates in the contest in Malaysia in 2015.
She joined the 2019 Bb. Pilipinas pageant and was crowned Bb. Pilipinas Globe, earning for her the right to represent the country in the Miss Globe tilt in Montenegro, where she was proclaimed second runner-up.
Other notable entrants are TV personality and former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate Kisses Delavin, Ginebra Calendar girl and returning candidate Crystelle Abello, and Misamis Oriental’s Chella Falconer who was 2017 Mutya ng Pilipinas-Northern Mindanao, 2019 Miss Kuyamis, and 2020 Miss Bikini Philippines first runner-up.
Former Miss Scuba Philippines Sherlyn Doloriel, former Bb. Cebu Steffi Aberasturi, and former Miss Hannah’s World Tourism Philippines Jane Nicole Miniano are also some of the veterans joining the fray.
The 100 delegates will be trimmed to 75 via an online challenge, where fans will be asked to vote for their favorite head shots on the MUPh app. Judges’ scores will also be considered for the cut.
The subsequent qualifiers will then undergo another online challenge before they are trimmed to 50.
The Top 50 delegates will take part in a live interview session with judges in Manila, then the roster will be further whittled down to just 30, who will take part in the live segments of the competition, including the final coronation ceremonies on Sept. 25.
Mateo, who finished in the Top 21 of the 2020 Miss Universe pageant staged in Hollywood, Florida, in May, will crown her successor, who will participate in the global tilt’s 2021 edition slated later this year.
