Celebrating Five Years of Trusted Choices: Parents’ Choice Awards 2026
To mark its fifth year, Modern Parenting brought together 100 parent-approved brands, a panel of real moms and dads, and a whole lot of activities, goodies and prizes at the Parents Choice Awards 2026
Ask any parent how they landed on the crib they bought, the formula they trust, or the brand of diapers permanently stocked in the cabinet, and the answer rarely traces back an ad. It usually starts with another parent saying, unprompted, “try this one.” That instinct – parents vouching for parents – is the entire premise behind the Parents’ Choice Awards, Modern Parenting’s yearly tally of the brands and services Filipino families actually rely on.
Held on August 29, 2026, at Hilton Manila, Newport World Resorts, this year’s ceremony marked five years since the awards began, and its largest lineup yet: 100 winners across a set of categories that, for the first time, made room for pet care and a standalone roster of Dad Must-Haves.
Five Years In
Host Anne Gauthier kicked off the afternoon by tracing the award’s arc — a project that started in 2021 as a roundup published on the Modern Parenting website, grew into last year’s first-ever live ceremony, and has now become the biggest gathering the program has seen.
One Mega Group’s Vice President for Lifestyle Media Brands, Apples Aberin, took the stage next to congratulate the 100 awardees. Newly a grandmother herself, she spoke about watching her daughter navigate the sheer volume of decisions that come with a new baby — what to feed him, what to dress him in, which products to trust — and how, more often than not, the deciding vote came from another mom’s word rather than a label. It’s the exact dynamic the Parents’ Choice Awards was designed around.
Modern Parenting editor-in-chief Marga Tupaz gave her own welcome before handing the stage over to the first set of awardees.
What Made the Cut
Winners weren’t picked by algorithm or popular vote — they came out of deliberations between Modern Parenting’s editorial team and a panel of parents, weighing each nominee against five measures: parent satisfaction, quality and safety, innovation, accessibility, and trustworthiness.
The program’s first stretch covered the ground-floor categories of early parenthood: Baby & Toddler Feeding, Baby Care, Nursing, Nursery, and Toys, Play & Learning. Established names like Philips Avent, Stokke, Cetaphil, Huggies, Mustela, and Xiaomi shared the stage with newer entrants such as Bean Cloud Diapers, Hoppi, and EcoMom.
The second stretch moved outward into the rest of family life — Apparel, Travel Gear, Travel and Leisure, Health and Safety Wellness, Mom Must-Haves, Dad Must-Haves, Home Essentials, Family Must-Haves, and, new this year, Pets — with wins going to brands ranging from Crocs and TUMI to Garmin, Shark, GCash, Grab, and Luxuri Vets.
(The full list of all 100 category winners will be available on modernparenting-onemega.com)
The Parents Behind the Picks
Midway through the program, the host stepped aside from awarding to introduce the 10 parents who shaped this year’s list — the same lineup fronting Modern Parenting’s August cover: Cristalle Belo-Pitt, Selena Antonio Reyes, Erika Kristensen Lee, Hannah Katibi Banal, Miel Coronel, Grace Carillo Balaguer, Michiko Soriano Gaeng, Trish Villanueva, Alvin Miranda, and Raffy Zamora. The group swapped stories with the host and Marga Tupaz about their own parenting lives before posing for photos with the crowd.
A Promise for Every Filipino Family
Presented with Vaseline Pro-Derma, a mid-program panel titled “A Promise for Every Filipino Family” turned the conversation toward skin. Moderated by Marga Tupaz, the discussion brought together aesthetic dermatologist Dr. Nina Monterola with fellow parents Aimee Misagal and Mariel Kliatchko to unpack how the Philippines’ back-and-forth of humidity and aircon chips away at the skin barrier over time, and why “fragrance-free” doesn’t have to mean “less effective.” Guests sampled the products on the spot and left with full-sized Vaseline Pro-Derma sets for the whole household.
The Editors’ Choice Awards
Two honorees, selected directly by the Modern Parenting editorial team, took home the Editors’ Choice Award — recognition reserved for the finds editors personally use and stand behind: Vaseline Pro-Derma, for a formula clinically shown to double skin barrier strength from first use and hold 56 hours of hydration, and Newport World Resorts, the country’s original integrated resort and a repeat staycation pick for Filipino families.
Raffles, and a Sneak Peek at Xiaomi’s Next Launch
The raffle segment sent guests home with Stanley tumblers, Toys”R”Us gift certificates, MORE Hair Center GCs, and Aivee Skin Spa signature facial GCs. Xiaomi used the moment to preview two products dropping September 1 — the Mijia Front Load Washer 9KG (₱20,999) and the Xiaomi TV S Mini LED 2026 Series (starting at ₱39,990) — then raffled a 65″ unit to one guest on the spot.
Co-presenters Newport World Resorts and Hilton Manila closed out the raffle with getaway and dining prizes: 2 tickets to Bongga Ka ‘Day: The Annie Batungbakal Musical, lunch or dinner for two at Casa Buenas, an All You Can Eat Yum Cha for two at Hua Yuan, and an overnight stay with breakfast for two at Hilton Manila.
Wrapping Up
Mitch Suarez, Chief Marketing Officer of Newport World Resorts, closed the formal program with a few words of thanks to guests and partners. Anne Gauthier returned for one last send-off, leading a final round of applause for all 100 awardees and pointing everyone toward the merienda spread and interactive booths still open for the taking.
The Takeaway
Five years on, the Parents’ Choice Awards has outgrown its start as a list on a website — it’s now an afternoon parents actually clear their calendars for. What hasn’t changed is the premise: the best product recommendation still comes from someone who’s lived through the 2 a.m. feeding, the leaking diaper, the stroller that wouldn’t fold at the airport gate. This year’s 100 winners earned their spot the same way — someone tried them first, and told a friend.
Special thanks to our co-presentors: Newport World Resorts and Hilton Manila; our sponsors Vaseline Pro Derma, Domex, Xiaomi, Sanicare, Luxuri Pets, Luxuri Vets, Edamama, Toys”R”Us, Fresh Philippines, and Tiny Buds; and our brand partners One World Deli, Kaalo, Vital Water, Vitasense, Luxelle, Aivee Skin Spa, MORE Hair Center, Eluvo Health, Ever Bilena, Stanley, Anko, Snailwhite, Sola Beauty, Healthy Options, Clear Men, Cycles, Cradle, VPharma, Johnson’s Baby, Modess, Aveeno, and Kaui Naturals.
Bela Gupta of Edamama, Marga Tupaz, and Siya Daryani of LuxMe
Ally Canita
Aliza Apostol Goco
Follow @modernparentingph and relive the celebration using the hashtag #MPParentsChoiceAwards2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Parents’ Choice Awards is an annual event organized by Modern Parenting (part of One Mega Group) that recognizes the most trusted brands, products, and services relied upon by Filipino families.
Winners were not chosen by algorithm or public voting alone. Instead, they were selected through detailed deliberations between the Modern Parenting editorial team and a curated panel of ten parent ambassadors. Every nominee was evaluated across five specific criteria: parent satisfaction, quality and safety, innovation, accessibility, and trustworthiness.
To reflect the evolving needs of modern family life, the 2026 lineup expanded to 100 winners and introduced dedicated categories for Pet Care and Dad Must-Haves.
