Pageant vloggers Tita Lavinia, Norman Tinio share top picks for Miss Universe 2023 

Manila, Philippines  — The heat is on in El Salvador. Exactly a week before the coronation night, pageant enthusiasts are pumped up to know who is going to be the 72nd Miss Universe.

In a Philstar.com exclusive, well-known pageant vloggers Norman Tinio and Tita Lavinia gave their early top picks leading up to the preliminaries this November 15 (November 16 in Manila). 

Philippine bet Michelle Marquez Dee, or MMD for short, kicked off her Miss Universe campaign with a "Hello, Universe" video that is now viral. She is now leading the "Voice of Change" portion of the competition. 

Norman Tinio is a permanent fixture in Philippine pageantry. He runs a widely followed pageant blog.  TIta Lavinia, meanwhile, is a popular pageant analyst and a certified cat lover. She also has a YouTube channel.  

Below are their top picks before the Preliminaries: 

Norman's list: 

1. Dominican Republic 
2. Nicaragua 
3. El Salvador  
4. Thailand  
5. Philippines 
6. India 
7. Ukraine 
8. Russia 
9. France 
10. South Africa
11. Bahrain 
12. USA 
13. Colombia 
14. Venezuela 

Tita Lavinia's list: 

1. Australia 
2. France 
3. India
4. Thailand 
5. Philippines 
6. Mexico 
7. Colombia 
8. Puerto Rico 
9.    Egypt
10. Russia 
11. Venezuela
12. Nicaragua
13. Dominican Republic
14. El Salvador

This list will definitely change come the preliminaries this coming Thursday (November 16).

Will our very own Michelle Dee clinch our fifth Miss Universe title? 

Stay tuned with the fearless forecast of beauty pageant experts coming soon after the preliminaries!

RELATED: Michelle Dee claims top spot in ongoing Miss Universe 2023 fan vote contest