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Ahtisa Manalo on the Advice That Inspired Her to Join Miss Universe Philippines Again

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<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749450820366495448296_18503654122044591_1821601521753169728_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Miss Universe Philippines 2024 Ahtisa Manalo, wearing Val Taguba | Photo by Seven Barretto</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>&quot;<em>Parang nakakahiya na</em>&quot; was the thought that briefly crossed <strong>Ahtisa Manalo</strong>&#x27;s mind when she was pondering joining <strong>Miss Universe Philippines</strong> again. Though she was already <strong>Miss International 2018</strong> 1st Runner-Up, Ahtisa didn&#x27;t stop reaching for the universe. She joined Miss Universe Philippines 2024 and was among the crowd favorites. With her standout performance, she placed 2nd Runner-Up alongside Miss Universe Philippines 2024 Chelsea Manalo, 1st Runner-Up Stacey Gabriel, 3rd Runner-Up Tarah Valencia, and 4th Runner-Up Christi McGarry. </p><p>Following that victory, Ahtisa was named <strong>Miss Cosmo Philippines 2024</strong> and represented the country at Miss Cosmo&#x27;s inaugural edition in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. She finished the competition in the Top 10. </p><p>&quot;I thought after last year, I was done with pageantry. I thought <em>na parang</em> <em>tama na</em>, <em>parang nakakahiya na</em>,&quot; Ahtisa opened up in an exclusive interview with <strong>Metro.Style</strong>.<em></em></p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749451008465495463008_18503803390044591_66100696064156948_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo by Seven Barretto</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>&quot;But then someone—and I don&#x27;t even remember who it was—but someone told me not to be scared to take on opportunities just because you don&#x27;t think you&#x27;re ready,&quot; Ahtisa recalled. &quot;Because you&#x27;ll never be 100% ready for anything. And all you&#x27;ve got to do is take the chance, take the opportunity, figure it out when you&#x27;re there, and trust that your life experiences, all the things that you&#x27;ve learned, have taught you well enough to be prepared for that thing.&quot;</p><p>That inspired Ahtisa to give Miss Universe Philippines 2025 a try. It was not an easy decision, especially when comments from naysayers would find a way to squeeze themselves into her headspace. </p><p>&quot;No matter how strong you are as a person, if you&#x27;re a public figure, there are going to be so many voices around you, so many comments,&quot; Ahtisa said bluntly. &quot;And if they get you on a bad day, and sometimes they do, <em>tumatagos &#x27;yung sinasabi nila</em>, even if you don&#x27;t want it, even if you&#x27;ve had so much practice, like years of practice. Sometimes they do still affect me, and I&#x27;d be lying if I said that they didn&#x27;t affect me.&quot;</p><p>Ultimately, Ahtisa told herself, &quot;So what? I&#x27;m doing it again. It&#x27;s for my dreams.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749451595110491901830_18503206582044591_7002665401431592525_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Ahtisa in Anthony Ramirez | Photo by Dookie Ducay</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>Ahtisa&#x27;s hard work paid off because she was named Miss Universe Philippines 2025. Not everyone can be pleased, and along with the outcome of the pageant came comments from bashers. </p><p>&quot;Social media is addictive,&quot; Ahtisa mentioned. She would receive comments from her family and friends, but the rabbit hole that is social media would sometimes lead her to see the negative things people say about her. She reads some of them, and while they can be hurtful, Ahtisa goes back to her core group of people whose voices matter the most to her, eventually drowning out all the bashing. </p><p>We asked Ahtisa, &quot;What&#x27;s something you wish people would stop saying about you?&quot; </p><p>&quot;<em>Ako naman</em>, I don&#x27;t mind,&quot; she replied. &quot;<em>Wala akong </em>specific anything that I would want people to stop saying about me because it&#x27;s their perception of me. And that&#x27;s okay because most of them, they don&#x27;t personally know who I am. And the people who matter, like my friends and my family and my loved ones, they know me for who I am, and they don&#x27;t say mean comments or they don&#x27;t say mean things just for the sake of being mean and negative. So I&#x27;ll just let them live, and I hope they let me live also.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749454757112491894228_18503104093044591_664232911571299174_n.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Ahtisa in Mark Bumgarner | Photo by Dookie Ducay</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>If there&#x27;s anything she discovered about herself when she joined Miss Universe Philippines 2025, it&#x27;s the beautiful things that can arise from her letting her guard down a bit and being more open. &quot;I was always a little bit guarded,&quot; Ahtisa admitted. &quot;As a public figure, it&#x27;s a sort of protective mechanism to be a little bit guarded. But then I discovered this year, during Miss Universe Philippines, that I can be more open. And it&#x27;s a nice feeling to be open to people and be liked for who you actually are.&quot;</p><p>What Ahtisa is can be summed up in two words: dreamer and doer. She not only inspires with her go-getting attitude, which is so innate in this entrepreneurial queen, but she also resonates with her authenticity and positivity. </p><p>During the Miss Universe Philippines 2025 coronation night, Ahtisa tripped and fell onstage. But gracefully, she stood up, and the crowd cheered her on. That moment spoke volumes about one of the most important lessons she learned in life: it&#x27;s that falling is not synonymous with failing. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn&#x27;t matter that we fall down—what matters more is how we stand up. </p><p>In the case of Ahtisa, just as she dusted herself off and tried again in pageantry, she gathered strength to move past shame, self-doubt, and feeling sorry for herself. She powered through in the Q&amp;A, saying, &quot;The thing with me is, whenever I fall in life, I always make sure I come back stronger.&quot; Stronger, she is, indeed.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:700px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1749460406125ahtisa manalo muph 2025.jpg" style="width:700px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner">Ahtisa in Val Taguba | Photo by Seven Barretto</span></span></span></div><div><em></em></div><div><br/></div><p>Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Ahtisa Manalo will represent the country at Miss Universe 2025 this November in Thailand.</p><div><br/></div><div><em>Visit Metro.Style again for more exclusive articles on Ahtisa Manalo.</em></div><div><br/></div><p>Lead photo by <strong>Seven Barretto</strong></p>

<p>Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Ahtisa Manalo is all about coming back stronger from a fall. </p>

Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Ahtisa Manalo is all about coming back stronger from a fall.

Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Ahtisa Manalo on the Advice That Inspired Her to Give Pageantry Another Try

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Miss Universe Philippines 2025 Ahtisa Manalo on the Advice That Inspired Her to Give Pageantry Another Try

Grace Libero

Published Jun 09, 2025 05:45 PM PHT

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Updated Jun 09, 2025 05:47 PM PHT

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Ahtisa Manalo

Miss Universe Philippines

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