What is The Miss Philippines, Miss Universe PH’s sister brand?

While the recent Miss Universe Philippines 2025 coronation event prominently featured Ahtisa Manalo taking the coveted crown, there were other significant winners among the Top 6 finalists whose victories might not have been seen by everyone watching online.

Indeed, the ceremonies continued at the venue with three more accomplished women receiving national titles: Katrina Llegado was named The Miss Philippines-Supranational, Chelsea Fernandez earned The Miss Philippines-Cosmo, and Gabriella Carballo was crowned The Miss Philippines-Eco International.

These particular titles fall under "The Miss Philippines," which functions as a sister brand to the Miss Universe Philippines pageant itself. This means these queens aren't directly under the global Miss Universe organization, which was the sole focus of the primary broadcast.

Both The Miss Philippines and Miss Universe Philippines are organized by Empire Philippines, the national franchise holder. The Miss Philippines brand is specifically responsible for selecting and sending the country's representatives to various other international beauty competitions.

Historically, the Miss Universe license for the Philippines was managed by the Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. Following the transition, the Miss Universe Philippines pageant operated as a standalone national competition, with contestants vying for just one title from 2020 to 2022.

In 2023, Empire Philippines expanded its portfolio by acquiring the franchises for the Miss Supranational and Miss Charm pageants. That year, representatives for these international contests were chosen from the Miss Universe Philippines finalists, though their own coronations were held in a separate program after the main MUPH event concluded.

Michelle Marquez Dee won the Miss Universe Philippines title that year, while her fellow finalists, Pauline Amelinckx and Krishnah Gravidez, were crowned Miss Supranational Philippines and Miss Charm Philippines respectively in a different venue hours later.

After Pauline Amelinckx achieved first runner-up honors at Miss Supranational 2023 in Poland, Empire Philippines officially recognized her as the inaugural "The Miss Philippines" titleholder. This development paved the way for a distinct competition aimed at selecting delegates for various international pageants.

October 2023 saw the staging of the first-ever The Miss Philippines coronation show, held in conjunction with the male pageant, Mister Pilipinas Worldwide. Alethea Ambrosio from Bulacan inherited the mantle from Amelinckx, becoming The Miss Philippines, and was later confirmed as the Miss Supranational 2024 delegate.

The finalists from the 2023 The Miss Philippines competition were also assigned their international roles: Chantal Schmidt as Miss Eco International Philippines, Blessa Figueroa as Miss Asia Pacific International Philippines, and Isabelle de los Santos as Miss Aura International Philippines.

Internationally, Ambrosio secured the Miss Supranational Asia and Oceania title. Her fellow The Miss Philippines titleholders from that batch also achieved runner-up placements in their respective global pageants.

Fast forward to 2024, the runners-up and finalists from the national competition won by Chelsea Manalo were crowned on the same stage as the main Miss Universe Philippines winner. They were initially named Miss X Philippines titleholders, but their titles were later standardized and rebranded under "The Miss Philippines" umbrella.

For instance, Ahtisa Manalo, who placed second runner-up in 2024, was initially Miss Cosmo Philippines before her title was updated to The Miss Philippines-Cosmo. Similarly, third runner-up Tarah Valencia became The Miss Philippines-Supranational.

This structure, featuring "The Miss Philippines-X" format, was maintained for the national title awards given to Katrina Llegado, Chelsea Fernandez, and Gabriella Carballo following the recent Miss Universe Philippines 2025 competition.

Looking ahead, Chelsea Fernandez is currently scheduled to compete this year at the second edition of the Miss Cosmo pageant in Vietnam. Katrina Llegado and Gabriella Carballo are set to represent the country in the 2026 editions of their respective international contests.

From the 2024 batch, Tarah Valencia is preparing to compete at Miss Supranational 2025 in Poland next month, while Alexie Brooks recently brought home the Miss Eco International crown from Egypt. The status of Cyrille Payumo's participation in Miss Charm remains pending, as details for this year's international competition have yet to be announced.