Ahtisa Manalo proudly represented the Philippines at the 74th Miss Universe pageant, held in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 21, 2025.
Manalo was crowned 3rd runner-up at the end of the ceremony.
The pageant is the biggest stage of her career so far, and many are looking back at the journey that brought her here.
Photo: Ahtisa Manalo/Facebook
Ahtisa’s story is rooted in perseverance. Growing up with limited resources, she often moved between relatives’ homes, supported by a family that did what it could to help her stay in school. Pageants became part of her life early on, not out of vanity, but out of practicality.
At age 10, she joined and won the Little Miss Enverga because the prize included free tuition for a year. That single decision opened doors, ultimately helping her finish an accountancy degree as a scholar at Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation. Through years of joining pageants, she saved enough to venture into business, even opening two cafés in Australia by the time she was 20.
For Ahtisa, the motivation was simple: she envisioned a life she wanted and worked steadily toward it.
Her Miss Universe Philippines journey
Ahtisa isn’t new to the international stage. Pageant fans first took notice when she placed first runner-up at Miss International 2018. After stepping back from competitions for health reasons, she returned in 2024 to finish second runner-up at Miss Universe Philippines and later competed at Miss Cosmo International, landing in the top 10 and taking home two special awards.
Her return to Miss Universe Philippines this year wasn’t something she initially planned—she had even filed her candidacy for municipal councilor in Candelaria. But a series of moments she interpreted as “signs” convinced her to give the crown one final try. Her third attempt paid off, officially earning her the Miss Universe Philippines 2025 title last May.
At the global pageant this morning, she stepped on the stage carrying not just her country’s hopes, but also the memory of her late grandmother, with whom she once shared this dream.
Her advocacies
While she has always voiced support for gender equality and the LGBTQIA+ community, Ahtisa’s main focus for Miss Universe 2025 is youth empowerment—particularly in nurturing leadership among young people.
In her Beyond the Crown campaign, she highlights the importance of helping children discover their strengths early on: “True leadership isn’t about power. It’s about purpose… even one child, given the right tools and faith, can change the world.”
During the competition, Ahtisa led two major polls—Most Beautiful People and People’s Choice—and consistently ranked within the top three across other categories.
She joined the top five of the competition with Fátima Bosch, Miss Mexico; Olivia Yacé, Miss Côte d’Ivoire; Stephany Abasali, Miss Venezuela; and Praveenar Singh, Miss Thailand.
During the Q&A portion of the competition, Manalo was asked, “As a global ambassador or citizen, what will be your contribution to humanity?”
She responded, “I want to be the hope of people. I come from a very poor background. I started pageants at 10 years old to put myself through school and to lift my family out of poverty. And if there’s anything that I want to show the universe, I’m here right now. I’m standing as Miss Universe because I was able to get myself out of any situation because I was hardworking, I was persistent, and I fight for what I want.”
The top five candidates were also asked the same question: “If you win the title of Miss Universe tonight, how would you use this platform to empower young girls?”
Manalo’s answer was, “I work with an organization called Alon Akademie where we work with young people to provide them opportunities to make them realize that it doesn’t matter what your life circumstances is, it doesn’t define where you will go. And I want to continue working with Alon Academy in a platform like Miss Universe to pursue making sure that people from low-income backgrounds are given the same opportunities like everyone else.”
At the end of the coronation, Fátima Bosch, Miss Mexico, was crowned Miss Universe.
The other crowns went to Yacé (4th runner-up), Manalo (3rd runner-up), Abasali (2nd runner-up), and Singh (1st runner-up).
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