A year ago, Sasha-Juli Lacuna finished in the Top 24 at Miss Universe Philippines as Tarlac Province’s delegate. This year she went back to a national stage for the same province and left with the Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2026 crown. Now she is carrying the Philippines to The Miss Globe in Phuket, Thailand, where the pageant runs from October 24 to November 7.
The Queen Who Went Back
Lacuna is 22, a model, and a familiar face to pageant followers. She won Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2026 on July 18 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, where 35 candidates competed in the 62nd edition of Binibining Pilipinas, the country’s longest-running national pageant. Her predecessor, Annabelle Mae McDonnell, crowned her.
She shared the night with Gwendoline Soriano of Baguio, who won the International crown and swept the special awards: Best in Swimsuit, Best in Evening Gown, Binibining Philippine Airlines, Binibining Urban Smiles and Miss SnowCaps Radiance. Soriano had also competed at Miss Universe Philippines 2025, part of a pattern among the Binibining Pilipinas 2026 queens.
Lacuna has also been open about Nevus of Ota, a skin condition that causes hyperpigmentation around the eye, and about the way her parents raised her to treat it as something to be proud of rather than hide. She has said that appearing without makeup never frightened her.
The Philippines’ Miss Globe Record
The Miss Globe is an international pageant, and the Philippines has won it twice. Ann Colis took the title in 2015. Maureen Montagne followed in 2021, crowned in Albania over more than 40 candidates, after finishing first runner-up at Miss Eco International in 2019. A third win would make Lacuna the country’s third Miss Globe and its first since Montagne.
The gaps between those wins are not for lack of trying. Nelda Ibe came within one placement of the crown in 2017 as first runner-up, and Anna Lakrini was second runner-up in 2023, when Malaysia took the title. Binibining Pilipinas announced in February 2026 that it had renewed its Miss Globe franchise for another three years, so the pageant remains part of the Binibining Pilipinas pipeline, and Lacuna is the first of the 2026 queens to compete abroad.
Her Game Plan
Lacuna told reporters after her win that her plan is to study past Miss Globe editions, work out what the organization wants from its next titleholder, and then fit that profile. She said she would allow herself a little rest first, but that Miss Globe was now the job at hand.
Field Notes
Event: The Miss Globe 2026, Phuket, Thailand, October 24 to November 7.
Philippine delegate: Sasha-Juli Belle Lacuna, Tarlac, Binibining Pilipinas Globe 2026.
Philippine wins: Ann Colis (2015) and Maureen Montagne (2021).