Contestants from 51 localities (26 provinces, 18 cities and 7 municipalities) were selected from local and regional pageants organized by
accredited partners of the competition. Voltaire Tayag, the organization's executive vice president, considered this year's batch as among the "strongest" so far. The competitors were formally announced on February 16 during a two-part event that began with a parade at the
SM Mall of Asia in Pasay titled "The First Walk" and continued into a by-invitation event at the
City of Dreams Manila in
Parañaque titled "The Reveal".
Debuts and returns This edition marks the debuts of cities of
Dasmariñas and
San Carlos, Pangasinan, the municipalities of
Luisiana,
Pateros,
San Jose, Negros Oriental,
Santo Tomas, La Union,
Taal, Batangas, the provinces of
Ilocos Norte,
Cotabato,
Mountain Province, and
Sarangani, and the overseas Filipino societies in
Saudi Arabia, the Canadian province of
Alberta, and the U.S. cities of
Bellevue, Washington and
Seattle. Additionally, this edition features the returns of
La Union and
Rizal which both last competed in
2020;
Nueva Vizcaya which last competed in
2022;
Negros Oriental and
Southern Leyte which both last competed in
2023; and
Cabanatuan,
Cebu and
Palawan which all last competed in
2024.
Withdrawals and replacements For this edition, no candidates were sent by accredited partners in
Angeles City,
Bago, Negros Occidental,
Basey, Samar,
Benguet,
Batangas,
Bulacan,
Butuan,
Caloocan,
Camarines Norte,
Camarines Sur,
Davao Region,
Dipolog,
Dumaguete,
Guipos,
Ifugao,
Ilocos Sur,
Isabela,
Lapu-Lapu City,
Liliw,
Lucena,
Malay, Aklan,
Naga, Camarines Sur,
Naic,
Oriental Mindoro,
Ozamiz,
Pasay,
Pasig,
Quezon City,
Quirino,
Romblon,
San Fernando, Cebu,
San Jose, Batangas,
Siargao, and
Siniloan. Leading up to the press presentation, Cristeta Longey, who was set to represent
Benguet, resigned her title and withdrew from the competition without a replacement. She cited a lack of transparency and support from her local organization as another individual was said to be undergoing training to represent the province in the pageant. According to her, the individual entered the contest representing another locality. Midway through the competition, Kathleen Caseñas switched her locality from
Batangas to
Bohol. The organization for the former province previously stripped Caseñas of her title after "accumulated violations and unresolved concerns" and a communication breakdown.
Issues and conflicts A day before the press presentation, Renee Rose Patual of
Southern Leyte announced her withdrawal from the competition to prioritize her health, citing a lack of updates and support from her local organization. However, she rescinded her decision a day later after reportedly reconciling with her organization. On March 28, the organization announced the removal of a candidate from the competition following the issuance of verbal and written guidance, decreasing the number of contestants to 50. Due to her omission in promotional material and absence in the preliminary competition, media outlets speculated that
Imelda Schweighart of Kalibo, Aklan, was the sanctioned individual. The organizers denied the speculations and withheld the identity of the disqualified contestant pending the resolution of legal proceedings. Schweighart would later be announced as a candidate to the
MGI All Stars 1st Edition more than a week later. Just before the coronation night, she withdrew from the competition after settling with the organizers. == Results ==