Reina Filipinas crowned its first-ever queen tonight — a Palawan pageant veteran on her second shot at the international stage, in a launch defined by a poached franchise and two controversial hosts.
Aaron Beau Davis won Mister World Philippines 2026 in a half-empty Newport theater, on a night that also snubbed a fan favorite and briefly swapped two sashes live on air.
Here’s a version of the pageant story you don’t hear as often: two women compete for the same crown, don’t get it, and instead of disappearing from the circuit, go on to win something arguably harder to get. That’s exactly what happened to Gwendoline Meliz Soriano and Sasha-Juli Belle Lacuna. Both represented their provinces at Miss Universe Philippines 2025. Neither one walked away with the crown. Both came back this July and won Binibining Pilipinas instead — the pageant that predates Miss Universe Philippines by over half a century, and the one a lot of pageant purists still consider the real prize. The Long Way Around Soriano’s road here started with a withdrawal, not a win. She was set to represent Pangasinan at Binibining Pilipinas back in 2022 and pulled out for personal reasons before ever reaching the stage. She spent the years after building an actual career instead — professional runway modeling, a stint on Kwentong Jollibee that pulled in over 10 million views, work with established Filipino designers — before trying again through …
