MANILA, Philippines — Finally, in her second try, Michelle Marquez Dee of Makati City bested 37 other hopefuls to be crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2023 at the close of glitzy rites on May 13 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Also the winner of the Best in Evening Gown, she was crowned by her predecessor and outgoing queen Celeste Rabimbi Cortesi, who represented Pasay in the national pageant last year, with reigning Miss Universe R'bonney Gabriel.
Michelle's other co-winners, Pauline Amelinckx of Bohol and Best in Swimsuit winner Krishnah Gravidez of Baguio were crowned in a separate event due to contractual restrictions with the Miss Universe Organization. Amelinckx is MIss Supranational Philippines while Gravidez is Miss Charm Philippines.
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Dee's royal court is comprised of Zambales' Christine Juliane Opiaza (1st runner-up) and Angelique Manto of Pampanga. (2nd runner-up).
As announced, the other lucky ladies who made it to the Top 18 were Eastern Samar, Parañaque, Tiaong (Quezon), Sorsogon, Mandaluyong, Bacolod, Cebu Province, Marinduque, Cavite, Davao Oriental and Isabela; including challenge winners Bulacan (Smilee) and Agusan del Norte (Glam Shot), completing the placement list in the semifinal round.
Ten candidates were actually announced to have qualified as the Top 10. They were Makati, Bohol, Davao Oriental, Baguio, Zambales, Bacolod, Agusan del Norte, Sorsogon, Eastern Samar and Cavite. However, a few minutes after, it was announced that due to technical issues, the results will be manually tabulated and that all 18 semi-finalists will compete anew in the evening gown and will all qualify for the Top 5.
Thus, Pampanga's Angelique Manto who was not originally in the announced Top 10, surprised everyone by getting a spot in the Top 5 to the glee of fans and supporters. Almost like a Steve Harvey moment, Pampanga's bet resuscitated her chances in the competition by bouncing back to life.
While technology can be a great help in the tabulation of results, a glitch throws off everything tupsy-turvy. So manual tabulation is preferred as double checking is more accurate.
Be that as it may, spectators still agree that the Top 5 finalists this year were one of the best, even eclipsing last year's batch of finalists.
This year's selection committee members were Lyn Lee, Toni Sharmaine Go, Anna Garces, Atty. Annette Gozon-Valdes, Cong. Sam Versoza, reigning Miss Universe R'bonney Gabriel, Lloyd Lee, Nelda Eusebio, Dyan Castillejo, Marion de Guzman, Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran and Tingog partylist representative Hon. Yedda Romualdez as chairman. This year marks the 50th year that the Philippines won the Miss Universe in 1973 in Athens, Greece.
Hosted by actors Xian Lim and Alden Richards, together with anchors Maureen Montagne, Tim Yap and Miss Universe 2019 Zozibini Tunzi, and entertainment numbers from Jessica Sanchez, the 2023 Miss Universe Philippines coronation night was beamed live to a global audience from the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
To date, the Philippines has won pageantry's most sought-after title four times. These were in the years 1969 (Gloria Diaz), 1973 (Margarita Moran), 2015 (Pia Wurtzbach), and 2018 (Catriona Gray).
RELATED: Michelle Dee, daughter of Melanie Marquez, is crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2023