MANILA, Philippines — For the first time in 12 years, the Philippines did not secure a place in the semifinals of the Miss Universe main competition.
Critical and crowd favorite Celeste Cortesi did not advance to the Top 16 of the prestigious pageant held earlier Sunday (Philippine Standard Time) in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Related Stories
Filipino-American fashion designer R'Bonney Gabriel, on the other hand, clinched the United States' ninth Miss Universe title after Olivia Culpo in 2012.
She bested first runner-up Amanda Dudamel (Venezuela) and second runner-up Andreína Martínez (Dominican Republic) after a single-question Q&A round for the surviving three delegates.
The Philippines, meanwhile, cut short its bid earlier expected, after having won the title twice post-2010: Pia Wurtzbach (2015) and Catriona Gray (2018).
Gloria Diaz first won the title in 1969 and was followed by Margarita Moran in 1973.
Here is a look back at the Philippines' Miss Universe placements since 2010:
2010 - Venus Raj (4th runner-up)
2011 - Shamcey Supsup (3rd runner-up)
2012 - Janine Tugonon (1st runner-up)
2013 - Ariella Arida (3rd runner-up)
2014 - Mary Jean Lastimosa (Top 10)
2015 - Pia Wurtzbach (Miss Universe 2015)
2016 - Maxine Medina (Top 6)
2017 - Rachel Peters (Top 10)
2018 - Catriona Gray (Miss Universe 2018)
2019 - Gazini Ganados (Top 20)
2020 - Rabiya Mateo (Top 21)
2021- Beatrice Gomez (Top 5)
RELATED: Celeste Cortesi ends Miss Universe 2022 journey