Miss Eco International announces withdrawal of Vietnam delegate's continental title

The Miss Eco International organization claimed that Vietnam's national director attempted to bribe officials, prompting them to strip the country’s delegate, Nguyen Thi Thu Truc, of her “Miss Eco Asia” title.

In a statement shared on its social media pages, the organization announced the withdrawal of Nguyen's continental title and the revocation of Miss Eco Vietnam's national license due to its national director's "repeated and documented attempts" at bribery.

"Miss Eco International announces the withdrawal of the Miss Eco Asia 2026 title and the revocation of the national license held by Miss Eco Vietnam. This decision follows repeated and documented attempts by the Vietnam National Director to influence the competition through bribery—cash offers, made in writing, in exchange for preferential treatment and a guaranteed Top 10 placement," the organization said.

It added that the alleged bribery attempts were "firmly rejected," stressing the organization "does not, and will never, accept pressure, manipulation, or any unethical influence on its judging process."

"We want to be clear about one thing. We did not hold our delegate accountable for actions outside her control. We saw real potential in Thi Thu Truc. Her Continental award had already been decided before Final Night, and we were committed to honoring her hard work. We gave her the benefit of the doubt, and we placed the decision to continue competing in her own hands," it said.

"She chose to take the stage. The conduct that followed—both backstage and before our audience—was her own, and it did not meet the standard her title demands," it continued.

The organization emphasized that the pageant values integrity and advocacy beyond physical beauty. It added that the organization initially kept the alleged bribery attempts private because it believed the contestant was not involved, but later decided to speak out in the interest of transparency.

“We chose not to make these attempts at bribery public before now, because we believed, in good faith, that the contestant was not involved. Her actions—together with the baseless and uninformed claims surrounding her organization—have left us to count on transparency, and not merely good faith. Our integrity does not allow us to remain silent," the organization said.

"The documentation behind this decision exists, is independently verifiable, and will be made available to all relevant parties. Whether those parties choose to share it further rests with them. We have nothing to hide, because we have always chosen to walk with integrity," it concluded.

Prior to this, the beauty queen drew attention during the finals after taking the microphone from host Kitt Cortez to ask why she was excluded from the Top 10.

Sysprotech, the competition’s online voting platform, posted the delegates with the most votes before coronation night, where Nguyen consistently appeared on the list.

It was later announced on social media that the Vietnam delegate was the top vote-getter after accumulating 91,360 votes, earning the "People's Choice" award.

In her lengthy post, Nguyen criticized the discrepancies in the conduct of Miss Eco International, particularly its online voting system.

“I am writing to you with a heavy heart, not to complain about my personal placement, but to officially raise a serious concern regarding the integrity, transparency, and failure to adhere to official regulations by the Miss Eco International Organization during the Grand Finale,” she wrote, as shared on her Instagram account.

“According to the strictly established and widely publicized rules of the pageant, the winner of the People’s Choice Award is guaranteed a direct placement into the Top 10 of the Grand Finale. This rule is the sole reason why thousands of fans from Vietnam and around the world invested their hard-earned money, time, and emotional energy into voting for days,” Nguyen continued, saying it is a “severe breach of trust" toward her and the global audience.

Miss Eco Vietnam has yet to comment on the bribery allegations as of writing.

Palmira Ruiz of Mexico was crowned the new Miss Eco International 2026, while Philippines' Gabbi Carballo finished her Miss Eco International journey at Top 21.