The Miss Universe PH 2023 grand coronation may have wrapped up on May 13, 2023, but netizens are still fanning the flames of controversy following discrepancies in the results.
ICYMI, the pageant did away with the Top 10 results and let the Top 18 candidates battle it out in the evening gown competition for a spot in the Top 5. Host Xian Lim announced that this was brought about by "technical issues", but fans weren't happy with the explanation.
One beauty queen who initially failed to make it to the Top 10 but got a second chance in the Top 5 was Miss Pampanga, former courtside reporter turned influencer, Angelique Manto. In the end, Michelle Dee of Makati was crowned 2023 Miss Universe Philippines, and Angelique bagged the 2nd runner-up place.
Almost a week after, Shamcey Supsup, Miss Universe Philippines Organization National Director, released a statement to clarify what really happened during the coronation night.
"Following the announcement, which was based on the independently tabulated results provided by the accounting firm, those very same results were submitted to the board of MUPh for record-keeping purposes," Shamcey explained in an FB post. "However, as I carefully examined the figures, my attention was drawn to the highly improbable nature of the numbers. This gave rise to concerns that the integrity of the results may have been compromised."
Shamcey emphasized that the board decided to perform a *meticulous* manual counting of the judges' votes with the supervision of an accounting firm. This revealed the discrepancies in the Top 10 results, leading to the Top 18 participating in the evening gown competition.
"Our primary objective as an organization is to promote integrity, transparency, and accountability in all aspects of the pageant. We believe in providing equal opportunities for all candidates and [doing] what is right no matter the consequences."
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