San Miguel resigned from her title in September 2008, three months before the scheduled Miss World pageant, citing personal reasons including the death of her grandfather.

[1] She is the eldest of three children, with her father working as a jeepney driver and her mother as a laundry washer or "labandera" (hired to wash other people's clothes).

[6] Winning the title made her the official designated Philippine delegate to the Miss World 2008 pageant, which was scheduled to be held later that year in Kyiv, Ukraine, (the venue was later moved to Johannesburg, South Africa, due to the conflict between Georgia and Russia).

"[10] Following the incident, the director of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority offered to coordinate with pageant organizers to conduct English courses for all Miss Philippines candidates to better express themselves.

[11] San Miguel's response has drawn comparisons between her and Melanie Marquez, Filipina winner of the 1979 Miss International pageant who is well-known for her shortcomings in speaking English.

A short official statement released by Binibining Pilipinas Charities said "The untimely demise of her grandfather, among other personal reasons, has caused her undue stress, thus hindering her from fulfilling her duties for the said title".

[4] The announcement of her resignation was met with speculation that San Miguel had been forced by Binibining Pilipinas pageant organizers to relinquish her title due to a lack of professionalism during preparatory training sessions, which strained the patience of her mentors and superiors.

[21] San Miguel was strongly considered for a role as a contestant in the second season of the reality television series Survivor Philippines, which began filming in May 2009.

[24] San Miguel has stated that she is refraining from focusing full time on her entertainment career due to her ongoing studies, though she continues to work on her figure in preparation for modeling opportunities.

[25] She advanced to the top three, but the contest was won by Charlene Almarvez, who went on to win first-runner up to Karlina Caune of the Baltics in the Supermodel of the World finals held in São Paulo, Brazil.

[26] In 2023, San Miguel, along with Binibining Pilipinas International 2008 Patricia Fernandez and some of her friends, appeared as contestants on Family Feud, playing for Autism Society Philippines.