Bulacan candidate Alethea Ambrosio has been crowned The Miss Philippines 2023, taking part in history as the first-ever winner of the beauty pageant.
The 21-year-old beauty bested 20 other candidates for the crown during the coronation night of the competition held at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.
Ambrosio succeeded Pauline Amelinckx, the first title holder of The Miss Philippines.
Amelinckx was proclaimed the first Miss Philippines titleholder after she finished first runner-up in Miss Supranational 2023 in Poland. She placed second to Michelle Dee in this year's Miss Universe Philippines pageant.
The other finalists are Isabelle de los Santos (Mandaluyong), Chantal Elise Legaspi Schmidt (Cebu City), and Blessa Ericha Figueroa (Northern California). A separate crowning ceremony will be held in February 2024 for the three of them.
The first The Miss Philippines coronation was part of an event titled The Filipino Festival, which also included the Mister Pilipinas Worldwide competition.
Brandon Espiritu of Guam, meanwhile, emerged as the winner of the said male pageant.
