Top picks at Miss Universe Philippines 2026 Evening Gown prelims

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MANILA, Philippines — The Miss Universe Philippines (MUPh) 2026 online preliminaries began with the Evening Gown competition presented last April 5, Easter Sunday, at the City of Dreams Manila.

All remaining 50 delegates donned gowns of their choice. Aklan representative, Imelda Schweighart, has left the competition and has moved on to join the inaugural edition of Miss Grand All-Stars. 

The top evening gown performances, in alphabetical order, came from:

• Baguio’s Roxie Baeyens in an asymmetrical gossamer number from Rian Fernandez
• Cebu City’s Apriel Smith who sizzled in a shapely serpentina silhouette from Oscar James
• La Union’s Bea Millan Windorski who was resplendent in a rib-baring creation by Mark Bumgarner.
• Manila’s Justine Felizarta who gave a good turn in a fabulous leg-baring bouffant-bustle design by Daniel Manila, and
• Taguig’s Bella Ysmael in a very flattering body hugger by Rian Fernandez, reminiscent of Paulina Vega’s winning ensemble in the Miss Universe of 2014.

Special mentions go to Ashley Subijano Montenegro (Luisiana, Laguna) and Jacqueline Gulrajani (Tacloban, Leyte).

The evening gown selection panel was comprised of Miguel Pastor (Bench), Miss Universe Philippines national director Ara Arida, Carlos Garcia Andal, Miss Universe Philippines 2019 Gazini Ganados, GMA executive Joy Marcelo, and Tes Parado-Aranda of City of Dreams Manila.

The online poll for the Evening Gown preliminaries will run until April 11. The next preliminary competition commences on April 12 with the Swimsuit category.

Ma. Ahtisa Manalo will crown her successor during the coronation night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on May 1, Labor Day. Stay tuned!

RELATED: Pageant veterans make top 12 in Miss Universe Philippines 2026 swimsuit show