Runner-up hated by Vietnamese fans finds her way to Miss Universe, causing disappointment on the first day

Maria Ahtisa Manalo - 1st runner-up of Miss International 2018 attracted attention when she continued to compete in beauty pageants. Previously, she received criticism from Vietnamese fans for her arrogant attitude when participating in Miss Cosmo 2024.

Beauty site Missosology reported that Ahtisa Manalo - 1st runner-up of Miss International 2018 - continued to register for Miss Universe Philippines. This is her second time participating in this contest. In the clip posted by Missosology, Ahtisa Manalo appeared with other contestants of this year's contest, including Yllana Marie Aduana - 1st runner-up of Miss Earth 2023, waving to the audience and media when her name was called.

The news that Ahtisa Manalo will compete in the Miss Universe pageant for the 5th time has attracted the attention of Philippine and international beauty fans. Many viewers support her to find a ticket to the Miss Universe 2025 arena. "I will support her again"; "Why not? She is qualified to participate. For me, she is still one of the strongest candidates for the Miss Universe crown"; "She will beat Yllana Marie Aduana to win the ticket to represent her home country", "Ahtisa Manalo is the overall winner"... viewers commented.

However, Ahtisa Manalo's "debut" unexpectedly caused controversy among the public. The beauty appeared with an elegant look when wearing a suit made of sparkling sequin material. This design covered her up so she could not show off her physical advantages.

Not only that, Ahtisa Manalo's light makeup and half-tied hair with a large bow were also criticized as being cheesy and not in line with the spirit of the Miss Universe Philippines 2025 contest. In the beauty field, Ahtisa has a lot of experience and is somewhat more prominent than many other contestants. Therefore, the beauty's performance at this opening event left the public disappointed.

"She's competed in Miss Universe 5 times. And yet she still makes mistakes with her outfit. I don't understand"; "The outfit makes Ahtisa Manalo look older, to the point that I almost didn't recognize her"; "I was really looking forward to her appearance, but she disappointed me"; "She already lost to Yllana Marie Aduana"; "With this kind of debut, what hope is there left?"; "I think Ahtisa Manalo was harmed by her stylist"; "Give me back the Ahtisa Manalo of last year"... netizens expressed.

Ahtisa Manalo was born in 1997, is 1.73 m tall, has a sexy body, graduated with a degree in accounting and has been pursuing this field for many years. She is very influential with the Philippine beauty fan community when she owns a personal Instagram page with more than 400,000 followers.

Ahtisa Manalo participated in the Binibining Pilipinas - Miss Philippines 2018 contest and finished as the 2nd runner-up. After that, she represented the Philippines in the Miss International 2018 contest in Japan. With a sweet appearance that was considered suitable for the criteria of the Miss International contest, Ahtisa won the 1st runner-up position.

In 2024, Ahtisa Manalo competed in Miss Universe Philippines and won the 2nd runner-up position. She was awarded the right to represent the Philippines at Miss Cosmo 2024 held in Vietnam, but had to stop early in the Top 10. After Maria Ahtisa was eliminated, many of her home audience left the stage. Meanwhile, Filipino beauty fans continuously expressed their anger on livestream as well as attacked the Miss Cosmo homepage.

During her participation in Miss Cosmo 2024 in Vietnam, Maria Ahtisa Manalo suffered an ankle injury and had to use a wheelchair. However, many viewers thought that she was lazy, using the injury as an excuse to not participate in the competition's activities. After the end of Miss Cosmo 2024, Ahtisa Manalo also deleted the title of Miss Cosmo Philippines 2024 from her personal page, making Vietnamese fans lose sympathy for her even more.

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