Ahtisa Manalo on Miss Universe 2025 results: 'I thought it was between me and Côte d'Ivoire'
Ahtisa Manalo bared her honest sentiments about the aftermath of the 74th Miss Universe, wherein Mexico's Fatima Bosch won the crown.
In an interview with Vice Ganda, the beauty queen noted that she respects the judges' decision during the Nov. 21 pageant where she emerged as third runner-up.
"I was hoping that I would win. I thought it was between me and Cote d'Ivoire (Olivia Yacé) that night because I heard all the answers," Manalo said, pertaining to the top 5 Q&A segment.
"Hindi ko man sila napanood, kasi when you're there, you're competing. You focus on yourself, you don't focus on other people," she said. "Pero 'pag Q&A na siyempre, wala ka nang magagawa doon. So makikinig ka na lang."
Vice shared that she also thought Yacé or Manalo would win.
"Si Côte d'Ivoire, tanggap namin kung masilat niya si Ahtisa. [Siya] lang ang pwede sa performance ni Ahtisa sa araw na 'yon," the It's Showtime host said.
Manalo and Yacé's Q&A performances
The top 5 candidates went through two rounds of Q&A, with Manalo first getting asked, "As a global ambassador or citizen, what will be your contribution to humanity?"
"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 hard working, I was persistent, and I fight for what I want," the Filipina answered.
Meanwhile, Yacé was asked about what emotional skill should be taught to every child in school and why.
"As a woman who has a foundation on education, I think it is important that we teach young girls to love themselves. That is why my slogan is, assume your identity. Because if you love yourself, if you have confidence, you can walk into this world and you can shine. So I will urge every young man and every young woman to love yourself first, be who you want to be, and shine," she answered.
For the second round, all beauty queens were asked, "If you win the title of Miss Universe tonight, how would you use this platform to empower young girls?"
Manalo said, "I work with an organization called Allen Academy, 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 Allen Academy on a bigger platform like Miss Universe to pursue making sure that people who come from low-income backgrounds are given the same opportunities as everyone else. Thank you."
Yacé, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of representation.
"Well, as an ambassador and as Miss Universe, I would want to be the face of representation, of a new generation that mixes culture, that mixes modern and traditional. I want to be the face of a new era of women that are bold, that are leaders, that are unapologetic about who they are. I want to be a role model for young girls and let them know that you, too, can make it. Go in those rooms where you think you don't belong; shine and make sure you assume your identity.".
The Miss Universe 2025 pageant ended with Mexico's Bosch as the winner, Thailand's Praveenar Singh as first runner-up, Venezuela's Stephany Abasali as second runner-up, Manalo as third runner-up, and Miss Côte d'Ivoire's Yacé as fourth runner-up.
Yacé was also crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania, a title that she later gave up.