As the Miss Universe 2016 pageant is inching towards the finale date, the country is preparing for the grand day. The Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo made the announcement that a group of former Ilocos Sur governor Chavit Singson will raise the $11 million needed to host the Miss Universe 2016 pageant.

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During one of her interviews, Teo mentioned that Singson along with major sponsors including Philippine Airlines (PAL), SM group, Japanese casino mogul Kazuo Okada, and Solar Entertainment will take care of the finances of the Miss Universe 2016 hosting. "The group of Singson, with the help of Okada, Solar, PAL, and SM, will handle the finances. He is the one getting the commitment from sponsors, the business community. But in the end, the department will manage everything, from ensuring the security aspect to [preparing] the venues.”

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The Head of the Department of Tourism said that Singson bought "a private plane, a mega yacht, and luxury buses for the Miss Universe candidates” The country plans on highlighting the major tourist spots outside Manila.

"For the photoshoot of [the] swimsuit competition, we are eyeing beaches in Cebu, but the main competition will be in Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena. For the culture or national costume, photoshoot will be in Vigan. We have spoken with Imee Marcos already and she agreed with us to send some candidates there," Teo said to Rapplers.

"Instead of the popular Boracay, Palawan destinations, I would like to focus on promoting Cebu, because the President (Rodrigo Duterte) wants to promote Cebu as an international gateway as Manila is already overpopulated," she further added.

The first time the Miss Universe pageant was held in Philippines was in the year 1974, when Amparo Muñoz of Spain was crowned. In 1994, the pageant the pageant was held again in the country, where India's Sushmita Sen was crowned.

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