The Philippines hurdled the second round of voting for the 2026 Miss Grand International pageant’s ‘Country’s Power of the Year’ online poll, and is moving on to Round 3.
But if in the first two rounds the public had 48 hours to vote, this time the voting period will only run for 24 hours. The third round of voting started on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 9 P.M. (PST), and will close on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 9 P.M. (PST).
What also makes the third round a tighter race for the qualifiers is the removal of the social media component for voting. Votes will only be accepted via the Miss Grand International pageant’s official voting portal.
And with the elimination of the social media component, there will no longer be any free votes for the pubilc. Every vote is worth THB35 (approximately P65). The pageant announced that the votes will also be counted for the race for ‘Miss Popular Vote.’
Reina Filipinas Angelica Lopez is representing the Philippines in this year’s competition. The country advanced to Round 2 of voting by ranking third in the list of 40 qualifiers.
The Top 40 ladies for the ‘Country’s Power of the Year’ voting were split into four equal groups, and only the Top 2 ladies from each group made it to Round 3. At the end of the round, only four ladies will move on to Round 4.
Joining the Philippines in the Top 8 for the voting for ‘Country’s Power of the Year’ from Group C was Guatemala. The qualifiers from Group A were Tanzania and Chile, Ecuador and Pakistan for Group B, and Vietnam and Paraguay for Group D.
The Philippines won ‘Country’s Power of the Year’ in last year’s competition, with Filipino delegate Emma Tiglao eventually claiming the crown at the end of the competition.
Reina Filipinas Pres. Jojo Bragais is campaigning vigorously to raise enough votes for the Philippines to move on to Round 4. He has tapped his business contacts and friends, and appealed to the pageant titleholders that he has sponsored in the past, to help the country’s campaign.
The 2026 Miss Grand International pagant is taking place in Thailand. The ‘Grand Final’ will be staged at MGI Hall in Bangkok on Oct. 10. Seventy-six delegates from around the world are competing this year.