The Philippines’ Miss World performance throughout the years
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Miss World 2013 Megan Young (center), Ruffa Gutierrez (right) and Catriona Gray. Images: Megan Young, Ruffa Gutierrez and Catriona Gray’s Facebook pages
Many pageant fans consider the Philippines a major pageant powerhouse, and the country’s record of collecting crowns and posting placements proves this observation to be true. But the Miss World is a different story, as only a handful of Filipino contenders earned distinctions in the London-based competition.
Unlike the Miss Universe, Miss International and Miss Earth pageants, where the Philippines has multiple titleholders, only one Filipino woman has claimed the Miss World’s “blue crown.” Megan Young accomplished the feat more than a decade ago in 2013.
The country first sent a delegate to the Miss World pageant in 1966, 15 years after the inaugural edition, with Vivien Austria participating. The first Filipino contender to place was Cecilia Amabuyok, who finished fifth in the 1968 contest.
Only 13 Philippine representatives advanced to the quarterfinals or semifinals, and eight have made it to the final round, including Amabuyok.
In comparison, the Philippines’ Miss Universe record includes 15 semifinalists and finalists, nine runners-up, and four top winners–Gloria Diaz (1969), Margie Moran (1973), Pia Wurtzbach (2015) and Catriona Gray (2018).
Six Filipino women have been crowned Miss International — Gemma Cruz (1964), Aurora Pijuan (1970), Melanie Marquez (1979), Precious Lara Quigaman (2005), Bea Rose Santiago (2013), and Kylie Verzosa (2016).
Five Binibining Pilipinas beauties earned runner-up spots in Miss International, while 24 other Filipino delegates advanced to the semifinals.
Eleven ladies posted semifinal placements for the Philippines in the Miss Earth pageant, six others bagged “elemental” titles, while four won the top prize — Karla Henry (2008), Jamie Herrell (2014), Angelia Ong (2015) and Karen Ibasco (2017).
The Philippines’ lean scorecard in the Miss World pageant includes two near-wins posted by Evangeline Pascual and Gwendoline Ruais, who were first runners-up in 1973 and 2011, respectively.
Actress Ruffa Gutierrez was second runner-up in 1993, while Gray finished in the Top 5 in 2016. Michelle Marquez Dee finished in the Top 12 in 2019, four years before she placed in the Top 10 of the Miss Universe pageant.
This year, seasoned pageant contestant Krishnah Gravidez hopes to raise the Philippines’ overall performance in the Miss World pageant and become the second Filipino woman to bring home the crown.
The Miss World coronation ceremonies will be held at the Hyderabad International Convention and Exhibition Center (Hitex) in Hyderabad on May 31. Czech beauty Krystyna Pyszkova will relinquish her crown at the end of the competition. /ra
