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27-year-old Ahtisa Manalo from the Province of Quezon, won the Miss Universe Philippines 2025 pageant on Friday, May 2. Manalo will now represent her country in the final stage of Miss Universe 2025, scheduled for November 21. The event will take place in Thailand.
On Friday's event, held in SM SM Mall of Asia Arena, Manalo defeated 65 other pageant beauties to win the Philippines crown.
Alongside the crown, Manalo was honored with a few other titles during the pageant's other activities before the coronation, including Miss Vitress, Miss Jewelmer, Miss Zonrox Colorsafe, Miss Hello Glow, and Miss Mags.
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Even though this was Manalo's first major win, this wasn't her first time participating in a beauty pageant. The Philippines' beauty queen has raked in several other crowns over the years, including a finishing rank within the Top 10 on Miss Cosmo 2024, and the first runner-up title at Miss International 2018.
Manalo earned the designation of the Queen of Niyogyugan Festival in 2016. The following year, she represented her title at the Reyna ng Aliwan competition and secured the second runner-up position.
Ahtisa Manalo was also the second runner-up at last year's Miss Universe Philippines pageant, with Chelsea Ann Manalo being crowned the winner.
Ahtisa Manalo reveals winning the beauty pageant was her late grandmother's dream
Ahtisa Manalo was born to a Finnish-Swedish father and a Filipina-Spanish mother on May 27, 1997, in Quezon Province's Candelaria. According to GMA News Online, Manalo began collecting funds for her schooling through participation in beauty pageants due to her family's underprivileged background.
The Filipino beauty has since stepped into her pageantry journey, while simultaneously continuing her education. Manalo holds an Accountancy degree from Quezon's Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation.
Ahtisa Manalo shared an insight into her passion to win the Miss Universe Philippines pageant on Friday during the Q&A round for the Top 6 contestants. The judges asked her:
"They say that a good leader leads by example. Tell us about one event in your life when you lived by example and the impact it made?"
In response, Manalo recalled a stage fall she experienced a while ago and how she pulled herself back up:
"I fell a while ago on stage. The thing with me is, whenever I fall in life, I always make sure I come back stronger."
Referring to her 2024 participation in the event, Manalo said:
"Last year, I was here on this stage, and for the second time this year, I'm here putting everything on this stage to be Miss Universe Philippines, because this is mine and my grandmother's shared her dream, and she passed away early this year. This is my ode to her."
Apart from pageantry and modeling, Ahtisa Manalo also indulged herself in business ventures. Speaking to the Philippines media Pep.ph., Manalo had said:
"I have two cafes in Australia. The first one is in a library, so the concept is noun, books, and all that stuff. The other one is in a park."
Per GMA News Online, Ahtisa Manalo initially wished to serve as a cop after being inspired by a few relatives who were in the profession. She even applied to the Philippine National Police Academy around the time she participated in the Binibining Pilipinas 2018.
However, Ahtisa Manalo said she "wanted to make a difference" and "explore" her potential. Manalo has also been a vocal advocate for the LGBTQ+ community.
