Filipina beauty queen Ahtisa Manalo extended her heartfelt gratitude to her supporters after finishing as 3rd Runner-Up in the Miss Universe 2025 pageant. In a Facebook post on Friday evening, Ahtisa wrote, “Maraming salamat po mga kababayan at sa lahat ng #Ahtistahins.” The message quickly gained traction online, earning over 120,000 reactions as of posting time. Ahtisa’s strong performance in Bangkok, Thailand drew widespread praise from fans and local officials alike. During the coronation night, she captivated the audience with her two-piece swimsuit and a show-stopping silver evening gown, continuing the momentum she built after her standout appearances in the preliminaries—including a fiesta-themed national costume and a Philippine Pearl–inspired gown. For the final Q&A, the Top 5 candidates were asked: “If you win the title of Miss Universe tonight, how would you use this platform to empower young girls?”
“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,” she said.
Despite not taking home the crown, Ahtisa’s advocacy-driven performance and charisma made her one of the pageant’s standout candidates. This year’s Miss Universe title went to Fatima Bosch of Mexico.
