MUPH eyes April coronation for Chelsea Manalo’s successor

Miss Universe Asia Chelsea Manalo (right) with MUPH VP Mags Cue/FAB PHILIPPINES FACEBOOK PHOTO

Chelsea Manalo‘s reign as Miss Universe Philippines (MUPH) will end a month shy of her crowning anniversary as her successor is set to be crowned in April next year.

The search for Manalo’s successor will go full throttle in the first quarter of next year, and will commence ahead of the mid-term elections scheduled on May 12, 2025. She was crowned on May 22 this year.

MUPH Vice President for Global and National Search Mags Cue shared some updates on the 2025 pageant with members of the media in a gathering that she hosted last Dec. 21.

Also at the media thanksgiving dinner were MUPH Executive Vice President Voltaire Tayag and Local Search Director Arnold Mercado.

“We are going to make it earlier this time because of the elections, so we won’t overlap with the elections. Medyo magulo ang elections (The elections will get crazy), so it’s going to be earlier than the elections,” Cue said.

She also hinted at a grand launch event for the 2025 national pageant, that Mercado said is tentatively scheduled on Feb. 15 next year. The 2024 competition also had a February launch.

But the 2024 competition period spanned longer than how the proposed new pageant calendar will run because of the coronation night scheduled in May. Mercado said the 2025 season will be shorter.

He said some local directors, or the accredited partners who were authorized to send delegates to the national search, had lamented about the lengthy pageant period for 2024. Mercado clarified, though, that although the delegates were presented in February, they were only required to stay in Manila for a period of two and a half months prior to the finals.

Cue said the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines pageant will be bigger and better than this year’s competition, with possibly up to 80 participants expected to be fielded by the local directors.

Of the expected 80 delagates to the national competition next year, about 14 will be coming from overseas Filipino communities, she and Mercado shared.

“MUPH 2024 has been termed as ‘bardagulan’ (bloodbath). But this time we will label it as ‘puksaan’ (eradication),” Cue declared, confirming the participation of actresses from different networks, pageant veterans, and etablished models.

“Abangan ang puksaan. Kahit iyong mga baguhan magagaling. May doctors, mga magna cum laude (Watch out for eradication. Even the rookies are amazing. We have doctors, magna cum laude graduates),” she added.

Cue said that if it were up to her, she will choose somebody who stands out from the crowd. “Kahit isama mo siya sa maraming tao, meron siyang uniqueness, meron siyang X-factor. Standout talaga (Even if she is in a large group, she has uniqueness, she has the X-factor. A real standout). It has to be someone who will really stand out among the rest,” she explained.

Manalo, who was crowned as the first-ever Miss Universe Asia at the culmination of the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico last month, will relinquish her national crown to the woman who will try to post the Philippines’ fifth win in the international pageant in next year’s staging of the 74th edition of the global tilt.

Mercado, meanwhile, confirmed that like last year, titleholders under MUPH’s sister brand The Miss Philippines will also be crowned right after the conclusion of the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines coronation show.

As of the moment, the global pageant partners affiliated with The Miss Philippines are Miss Supranational, Miss Asia Pacific International, Miss Eco International and Miss Eco Teen International, Miss Cosmo, Miss Aura International, and Miss Charm.