Kenneth Marcelino is just one of the Filipino male beauty pageant competitors competing this month in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Philippines continues to establish itself as a pageant powerhouse, not just in female beauty pageants, but also in male ones as one of the country’s delegates, Kenneth Marcelino, finished his competition as first runner-up.
In one of the more recent posts on its official Instagram account, the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide organization announced that Kenneth ended as first runner-up in the 2025 Mister Cosmopolitan pageant held Sunday evening in Bangkok, Thailand.
Kenneth had earlier won the Best in National Costume Award for his costume inspired by the character Adamus from Encantadia Chronicles: Sang’gre. The costume was designed by local designer Patrick Isorena, with the designer showcasing the outfit on his Facebook account.
Kenneth’s first runner-up finish is the closest the country has come to winning Mister Cosmopolitan since the pageant was started in 2023. During that inaugural run, the Philippines’ Ivan Ignacio finished second runner-up.
Kenneth is one of the seven Mister Pilipinas Worldwide pageant winners announced back in April. The others were Mister Global Philippines Jether Palomo, Mister International Philippines Kirk Bondad, Mister Pilipinas Manhunt International 2025 Raven Lansangan, 2025 Mister Eco International Philippines Kitt Cortez, 2025 Man of the Year Philippines Michael Angelo Toledo, and Mister Supranational fourth runner-up Kenneth Cabungcal.
Since clinching the fourth runner-up position in Mister Supranational, Kenneth has gone on a little vacation detour in Switzerland.
Also set to compete in the coming days are Kirk Bondad, who will take part in the Mister International pageant from September 12 to September 26, and Jether Palomo for the Mister Global pageant from September 25 to October 5. Both pageants will be held in Bangkok, Thailand.
Kenneth’s win is a welcome development after the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide had to release a number of statements in support of some of their embattled winners and competitors. Back in August, the organization released a statement in support of Jacinth Ziff, who detailed being touched inappropriately by a local designer and the national director of the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide Butuan organization in a Facebook post.
Read the full Facebook post below.
In their statement, the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide organization condemned “all forms of harassment, assault and exploitation.” The organization also expressed its gratitude to Jacinth and reiterated that it is working very hard to “elevate the pageant community and promote a safe space in the industry.” The organization also assured its followers that they will not work with the local director, designer, team and individuals again.
This statement came after the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide organization reaffirmed its support for Raven Lansangan after the Mister Pampanga organization revoked Raven’s title as Mister Pampanga 2024, citing “serious violations of the organization’s Code of Ethics.” The organization stated that Raven failed to fulfill the duties and obligations required under his title, and that he joined another organization without the prior consent of the Mister Pampanga Organization.
The Mister Pampanga Organization then wrote that they hope Renz’s future endeavors will “reflect the values of loyalty, dedication, and commitment to moral responsibilities.”
