Miss Universe Philippines trophy designer claims pageant org ‘refused to pay’ him

Image: Facebook/Miss Universe Philippines, Jef Albea

Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) official trophy designer Jef Albea aired his grievance against the organization for allegedly “[refusing] to pay” him and “[vanishing] into thin air.”

The artist, who was acknowledged by the MUPH via its Instagram post last May 18, made public the organization’s supposed  “mistreatment” of him via his Facebook page on Wednesday, June 12.

“I did not get paid,” he began.

“Miss Universe [Philippines] vanished into thin air. They refused to pay me for the trophies I designed and crafted for the coronation night. All the effort, dedication and passion I put in creating these pieces, ended up ignored and disregarded when payment was due,” he claimed.

Albea noted that he shared his account not to get paid by the MUPH organization but for it to serve as a lesson that “artists deserve respect.”

“I do not need nor will I accept a single centavo from the organization anymore,” he stressed. “We (artists) pour our hearts and souls into our creations. Our ideas don’t just appear from thin air just to work for an X-deal.”

“I fiercely advocate for my fellow artists with unwavering passion, not all artists can take and afford this mistreatment,” he continued. “Please, do not let our work be taken for granted.”

In response to Albea, MUPH project head Borg Roxas asserted that his team has been communicating with the designer, hence they were “surprised” with the latter’s sudden “mistreatment” claims.

Roxas clarified that they have been processing the payment for Albea, saying that it was not included in the May 30 cutoff because the designer’s team had yet to submit their billing statement and invoice at the time.

“Kausap din nila ang staff namin even until yesterday, June 12, na inaayos lang for billing kasi ang daming suppliers sa production from artists to technicals, etc. Lahat ng suppliers nagpapadala ng billing statement at invoice prior to May 22 para aligned na lahat. Nauna nabayaran ‘yung nagpapadala agad kasi may paperwork,” Roxas explained via his Facebook page.

Roxas added that they were even promoting Albea and his works, a treatment the other suppliers did not get. Roxas further stated that they are not fleeing from their financial responsibilities to Albea.

“Nakakalungkot lang na nagpopost na agad siya na magkausap naman sila ng staff,” he lamented. “Hindi siya nakasama sa May 30 cut off kasi walang papers. Kaya sa June 15 cut off siya nakasama kasi magkausap sila ng staff.”

“Again, hindi ang MUPH ang nagkamali dito. Sa production side, kailangan namin i-defend sa management kahit walang billing or invoice, [and] nag-yes naman agad [ang] management sa amin,” he said. “Lahat naman mababayaran.”

Roxas noted in his statement as well that Albea also provided the trophies for MUPH’s sister search, The Miss Philippines Culture and Heritage Celebration, in 2023 and was reportedly paid P150,000.

In the same year, Albea also designed the trophies for its counterpart tilt, Mister Pilipinas Worldwide.

The MUPH organization, meanwhile, has yet to release an official statement on the matter as of this writing.