Emmanuelle Vera. Image: Instagram/@emmanuellevera
Pageant veteran Emmanuelle Vera revealed that she was part of the Top 10 of the Miss Universe Philippines (MUPh) 2023 pageant, even though it was left unannounced during its coronation night.
Vera made the claim on her Instagram account last Wednesday, May 17, as she expressed gratitude to her team, fans, and MUPh organization for their support during her journey, while sharing a snippet of her performance at the swimsuit round.
The beauty queen, who went by her birth name of Emmanuelle Camcam during the pageant’s run, represented Cebu Province.
“To everybody who made this journey possible, you are the ones who truly deserve crowns. People like me are merely the faces of the hardworking [and] dedicated teams who are the machinery that keep us going,” she began. “I want to start by thanking God, who both gives and takes away, and remains good nevertheless. He is sovereign above every circumstance, and I praise him in both my victories and defeats.”
The actress-beauty queen went on to share that she was part of the pageant’s “unannounced Top 10,” as she thanked her coaches for keeping her in tip-top shape throughout her MUPh run.
“A top 10 finish, though it remains unannounced, is surely something to be grateful for, and a feat I could never have accomplished without you. I am proud to be a #promediaathlete,” she said.
“Thank you to the @themissuniverseph org and the persevering staff who gave us priceless opportunities, saw to it that we were well taken care of, and often forsook sleep to ensure things ran smoothly. It was hectic to say the least, but you stayed committed to the ladies, and to the vision until the very end,” she continued.
During the national tilt, Vera was announced as one of the Top 18 semifinalists who went on to compete at the swimsuit round. At around 9:07 p.m., she was cut off from the Top 10 which included Michelle Dee, Pauline Amelinckx, Klyza Castro, Krishnah Gravidez, CJ Opiaza, Jan Marie Borbon, Jannarie Zarzoso, Rein Carrascal, Airissh Ramos, and Samantha Panlilio.
But at around 9:50 p.m., host Xian Lim announced that the MUPh organization disregarded the Top 10 candidates due to undisclosed “technical issues.” Vera, along with her fellow eliminated candidates, were brought back to face off at the evening gown competition.
A week after, MUPh national director Shamcey Supsup confirmed that the Top 10 finalists were disregarded due to “discrepancies” in the initial results as it showed “highly improbable” numbers.
“In order to ensure absolute fairness and transparency, the board made the decision to initiate a manual counting of the judges’ votes. This meticulous process was conducted with the utmost diligence and in the presence of the accounting firm. As a result, it became evident that there were discrepancies in the initial top 10 results,” Supsup said.
It can be noted, however, that the national tilt failed to disclose the tabulation of results of the Top 18 and Top 10 candidates as of this writing.
Prior to the MUPh coronation, Vera was named the country’s representative to the Reina Hispanoamericana 2021 pageant, where she eventually finished as third runner-up. EDV