ALV Pageant Circle queens (from left): Face of Beauty International Philippines Nikki Buenafe Cheveh, Miss Asia Pacific International Philippines Anita Rose Gomez, Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas Beatriz Mclelland, and Miss Tourism World Philippines Michelle Arceo/ARMIN P. ADINA
Emma Tiglao may have claimed the Miss Grand International Philippines crown, besting 28 other aspirants for the coveted title. But four more women also became queens alongside her.
Of the 29 candidates who battled it out on stage at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Aug. 24, five ended the night as queens, as four additional national titles were awarded.
Incidentally, Tiglao and the four other winners are all pageant veterans who have already been queens with their own national titles, except for another heavy favorite Anita Rose Gomez who had just bagged her first-ever major national title.
Gomez, a fellow Zambaleña of reigning Miss Grand International Christine Juliane “CJ” Opiaza, was crowned as Miss Asia Pacific International Philippines, and is set to represent the country in the coming Miss Asia Pacific International pageant in Cebu in October.
She had already participated in the Miss Philippines Earth pageant in 2021, and joined the 2024 Miss Universe Philippines competition, where she advanced to the Top 10.
Gomez will now try to sustain the Philippines’ reputation as the best-performing country in the Miss Asia Pacific International pageant and become the sixth Filipino woman to win the title.
Another big winner of the evening was Aklan’s Francesca Beatriz Mclelland who was crowned Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas by no less than reigning Reina Hispanoamericana Dia Mate, the second Filipino woman to win in the Latin-dominated competition.
Mclelland had already taken part in the 2022 Miss World Philippines pageant, mounted by ALV Pageant Circle that also now organizes the Miss Grand International Philippines contest.
In her first major national pageant, which she joined at the age of 18, she was crowned Miss Eco Teen Philippines, making her the country’s resentative in the 2022 Miss Eco Teen International pageant.
At the international pageant held in Egypt, Mclelland gave a solid performance and an excellent answer to the final round that earned for her the first runner-up spot.
But it was not her first international competition. She had earlier competed in the Miss Teen International pageant in 2019 in India, where she was among the finalists.
Another national title, Miss Tourism World Philippines, went to Taguig City’s Michelle Arceo, who had just taken part in her fourth competition under ALV Pageant Circle.
She was a Top 12 finalist in the 2019 Miss World Philippines, and returned in 2021 to be crowned as Miss Environment International Philippines.
Arceo competed in the inaugural Miss Environment International pageant held in India in 2022, and received the Miss Ecosystem title for finishing second in the competition.
When ALV Pageant Circle acquired the Miss Grand International franchise for the Philippines in 2023, Arceo signed up for the national competition. But she settled for the Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas crown, with the top prize going to Nikki De Moura.
She finished as segunda finalista (second runner-up) at the 2024 Reina Hispanoamericana pageant held in Bolivia. She later relinquished her national title to Dia Mate, who eventually won the international crown in the 2025 competition.
The fifth queen of the night was Quezon City’s Nikki Buenafe Cheveh, who was crowned as Face of Beauty International Philippines by reigning Face of Beauty International Jeanne Isabelle Bilasano, the first Filipino woman to win the global title.
Cheveh and Bilasano, together with Mate, all competed in the 2024 Miss World Philippines pageant, where the three of them earned their own national titles.
But while Mate and Bilasano got to compete abroad, and win, Cheveh’s Miss Multinational Philippines title just brought her uncertainty as the organizers of her supposed interntional pageant failed to announce any forthcoming competition.
She gave up her national title to try her luck in the Miss Grand International Philippines pageant, aware that the move could be a risky one. But her gamble paid off, and she is now set to join her first global tilt.
When ALV Pageant Circle launched the 2025 edition of the Miss Grand International Philippines pageant, only two additional titles were announced–Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas and Face of Beauty International Philippines.
In June, the national pageant organizers announced the acquisition of the franchise for the Miss Asia Pacific International contest, and added a new national crown for the Miss Grand International Philippines pageant.
And on the evening of the competition, spectators were surprised to see a fifth emblem on the backdrop, that of the Miss Tourism World pageant where the Philippines last posted a victory in 2002. The competition concluded with five new queens. /edv
