All posts tagged: Manhunt International

John Wayne Alba, Mister International Philippines 2026, in formal wear

Meet John Wayne Alba, the Philippines’ Bet to Go Back-to-Back at Mister International

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John Wayne Alba has his sash. Mister Pilipinas Worldwide confirmed today that Alba formally received the Philippine sash at Mister International 2026’s Opening Ceremony and Press Conference in Bangkok, the ceremonial start of a pageant window that runs September 12 through 27 across Phuket and Bangkok, with the coronation itself set for September 26. Sash ceremonies rarely make news beyond a photo and a caption. Alba’s carries more weight than most, because of what happens if he actually defends it afterward. Kirk Bondad won Mister International 2025 in Nonthaburi last September, the Philippines’ second title in the pageant’s history after a first win in 2014. No Filipino man has ever defended this specific title back-to-back — not under the Thailand-based organization Bondad and Alba both compete through, the version that’s run the pageant since a 2022 leadership split divided it from a separate, Philippine-based lineage of the same name. A win for Alba on September 26 would turn Bondad’s 2025 title from an isolated result into the start of a streak. Who’s Under the Sash …

Oozing with masculine fire, Dylan Palmerini of France is Manhunt International 2026. - Photo from his Instagram account.

Dylan Palmerini Gives France Back-to-Back Manhunt International Wins; Raven Lansangan Finishes in Top 20

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France has done it again. Dylan Palmerini, a model from Istres near Marseille, was crowned Manhunt International 2026 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on September 9, beating out a field of 35 delegates to bring the country its third title in the pageant’s 24-year history. India’s Nipun Singh finished first runner-up, with Puerto Rico’s Lucas Díaz, Nigeria’s Samuel Ayeloja, and Vietnam’s Tran Tien Dung rounding out the Top 5. Fellow French model and Manhunt International 2025 winner Adonis Renaud passed the title to Palmerini during a fast-paced coronation night that lasted just over two hours. Rounding out the Top 10, Sri Lanka’s Isanka Pramuditha placed sixth, the Dominican Republic’s Leandro Mendoza seventh, Spain’s Darío Meroño eighth, Korea’s William Sin Kyu ninth, and Cuba’s Osdany Garcia tenth. Each of the Top 5 winners also received a Manhunt Gold Ring valued at $12,000. A Third Crown for France Palmerini’s win makes France the only country to claim a Manhunt International title twice in a row since the pageant returned to an annual format. The country’s first champion was …

Mister Pilipinas Worldwide 2026 winners circle

Mister Pilipinas Worldwide’s Kings Are Chasing Their Next Crown

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Mister Pilipinas Worldwide (MPW) — the national franchise that sends Filipino male delegates to international pageants — has produced exactly two crowns in the past two years: Dom Corilla’s Mister Global win in Bangkok in October 2024, and Kirk Bondad’s Mister International win in 2025. That’s a genuinely small number for Philippine men’s pageantry, and this year MPW is sending five titleholders abroad to try to add to it, starting this September. Whether any of them actually bring one home is still an open question — but the closest thing to a rematch starts on September 26, when John Wayne Alba boards a flight to defend the exact crown Bondad won. Raven Lansangan is first out the door. The Kapampangan flight attendant leaves for Colombo, Sri Lanka on September 3, competing against 31 other delegates for the 24th edition of Manhunt International — one of the oldest male pageants in the world, running since 1993. A day later, on September 4, John Eriq Bonifacio boards his own flight, to Nha Trang, Vietnam, for Mister Cosmopolitan. …