It is the best showing of the country to date.
On Sunday, September 7, in Thailand, 18 contestants from all over the world competed in the finals night of the third Mister Cosmopolitan pageant in Thailand.
Representing the Philippines at the said affair was Kenneth Marcelino, who holds the national title Mister Pilipinas Cosmopolitan.
Marcelino, 25, is an early favorite and immediately entered the Top 5 forecasts of observers.
He also delivered a strong performance at the preliminary competitions and bagged the Best in National Costume award with his ‘Diwata’ attire, which is inspired by the fantasy television series ‘Encantadia Chronicles: Sang’gre,’ with the color resembling that of Sang’gre Adamus.
Alongside that, he also won the Mister Cosmopolitan Photogenic this edition.
At the main event, he came close to becoming the next Mister Cosmopolitan, but settled with the first runner-up placement. Although, he still made a mark by having the Philippines’ best finish to date.
Ivan Ignacio led the way and earned the second runner-up spot in 2023, while Emerson Gomez, Marcelino’s direct predecessor, placed in the Top 10 in 2024.
Taking the top prize in the 2025 pageant was Taiwan’s Shawn Lin Yu Hsiang. Other contestants in the Top 5 were South Africa’s Sandile Gama (2nd runner-up), Vietnam’s Dinh Sy Tu (3rd runner-up), and France’s Eddy Joblon (4th runner-up).
Kenneth Marcelino is the latest Mister Pilipinas titleholder to bring pride to the country, following Kenneth Cabungcal’s fourth runner-up end in Mister Supranational 2025 and Jordan San Juan’s third runner-up finish in Manhunt International 2025.