Pageant favorite Yllana Marie Aduana is set to skip Miss Universe Philippines 2026.
Photo: Yllana Marie Aduana (via @dookieducay)/Instagram
In a heartfelt Instagram post, Yllana addressed pageant fans and confirmed that she will not be joining this year’s edition.
View this post on Instagram
“I hope you all are having a beautiful day!! The past few days, I have been seeing so many of you curious whether I am going to join again in this year’s edition of @themissuniverseph or not. And honestly, for the past few months, I have also been thinking the same thing and praying really hard to God that He guides me in the process,” she wrote.
The Filipina model shared that from the moment she entered pageantry, she committed fully and never did anything half-heartedly. However, this year, she wanted to pursue something else outside of pageantry.
“Throughout my 4 years in pageantry, I never stepped into any game half-hearted. It was always a firm decision and mindset of ‘I want it so I’ll do it’ then give it my all and nothing less,” she said.
“This year, I realized that my heart wanted to pursue other big and substantial things, but this time, outside of pageantry. Don’t get me wrong, my pageant girly self craves being on the stage and performing again in front of so many people, but hey I guess, the heart wants what it wants,” she added.
Despite not joining this year’s Miss Universe Philippines, the 27-year-old beauty queen remained thankful for those who continuously expressed their love and support for her.
“This year will also be a very big one for me and I am really excited to make it just as impactful as I do all things that make my heart genuinely happy and that will expand my career too! I hope you guys still support me regardless,” she affirmed.
“Can I just say that I am very excited to cheer on the delegates of MUPH this year, and may the best Queen win!” she concluded her post.
Yllana Marie Aduana was crowned second runner-up at last year’s Miss Universe Philippines competition. She previously won Miss FIT Philippines 2021 and went on to represent the country at Miss Earth 2023, where she was named Miss Earth Air.
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