From a pool of 66 candidates, Ahtisa Manalo of Quezon Province stood above the rest and claimed the Miss Universe Philippines 2025 crown on coronation night, May 2, held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
In the final Q&A, she was asked to recount an instance wherein she led by example. She alluded to giving Miss Universe Philippines another shot after finishing second runner-up in the previous year.
“... The thing with me is, whenever I fall in life, I always make sure I come back stronger. 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 dream, and she passed away early this year—and this is my ode to her,” she declared.
Not only did she clinch the coveted crown, Manalo also bagged awards from the preliminary competition, namely: Miss Jewelmer, Miss Mags, and Miss Zonrox Colorsafe.
Muntinlupa bet Winwyn Marquez came in second as first runner-up, followed by Yllana Aduana of Siniloan, Laguna as second runner-up.
Chelsea Fernandez of Sultan Kudarat was hailed Miss Philippines Cosmo 2025, while Taguig’s Katrina Llegado took home the Miss Philippines Supranational 2025 crown. Gabriella Carballo of Cebu City emerged as Miss Philippines Eco International.
Manalo will be embodying Filipino beauty in Miss Universe 2025, to be hosted in Bangkok, Thailand on November 21.
Back in 2017, Ahtisa Manalo landed second runner-up at the Reyna ng Aliwan pageant, representing the Niyogyugan Festival. A year later, she joined Binibining Pilipinas 2018 as its youngest candidate and was crowned Binibining Pilipinas-International 2018, the pageant’s second-highest title at the time. She went on to represent the Philippines at Miss International 2018, where she finished as first runner-up.
Years later, Manalo returned to pageantry at the Miss Universe Philippines 2024 competition, where she placed second runner-up. She was subsequently appointed to represent the Philippines at Miss Cosmo 2024, where she secured a spot in the Top 10.
