With all the buzz surrounding the concluded Miss Universe Philippines 2023, one of the most popular candidates to have caught pageant fans’ attention is Angelique Manto, Pampanga’s 26-year-old representative and popular fashion content creator. She won 2nd runner-up next to Christine Opiaza of Zambales and Michelle Dee, who were crowned 1st runner up and Miss Universe Philippines 2023, respectively.
A fan favorite to win the crown, Angelique quickly skyrocketed to top Twitter trends after falling short of bagging the most coveted beauty title of the night. (As of writing, we've discovered 40,000 tweets under her name.) The support is no surprise to anyone following the beauty queen for some time now—given her ethereal beauty, relentless charm, and stacked resume.
Want to learn more about Angelique? Here are five things to discover about the Kapampangan beauty!
5 Things To Know About Angelique Manto
1. She was once a courtside reporter for UST.
If Angelique’s name rings a bell for sports fans, it's because she used to be a courtside reporter for UAAP. She's the voice behind the legendary UST cheer dance competition spiel “Ibalik ang korona sa España.” She graduated from the same school with a Bachelor's degree in Communication Arts.
2. She has an uber-supportive boyfriend in David Guison.
Her boyfriend David, a fellow content creator, ensures that Angelique feels his all-out support and love. Quite possibly the blueprint for supportive beaus, IMHO. In his TikTok account, he vlogged about helping his girlfriend in some of the MUPH challenges, giving followers a glimpse of their adorable bond. What a cute pair!
3. She is an advocate for mental health.
Angelique makes sure to speak up about worthy causes way before she joined MUPH. For years, she is not been one to shy away from advocating mental health awareness. In an interview, she emphasized the need to stir meaningful discussions about this movement: "I’ve been working with Mental Health PH since 2020 and I feel like it’s about time that we reopen the conversations about it because we’ve been pushing it back.”
4. She pursued her Miss Universe dream the same day she encountered heartbreak.
Despite it being her longtime dream, joining a national pageant wasn’t easy for Angelique, who bravely submitted her application the day she had a heartbreak in the past. She detailed her loss about her dad's passing and how significant it was for her MUPH journey in an Instagram post. "My last memory with my dad was him carrying me on his wheelchair as I won Miss Pampanga back in 2014. Eight years ago, on February 13th, my dad took his last breath. I was seconds too late from catching the bus that would've brought me back home in his arms — I missed the opportunity to bid my last goodbye to him, it has been my biggest regret since," she shared. "I will always remember my Papa. I know he’s always been proud of me but will even be prouder than ever as I assume an old promise," she concluded. Aww, we're sure he’s smiling right up there, queen!
5. Miss Universe Philippines isn’t her first pageant, and hopefully won’t be the last, too!
MUPH might be her first major national pageant, but Angelique had competed in pageants in Pampanga and her alma mater, UST. She has won the following titles: Mutya Ng Kapampangan 2014, Mutya Ng Lubao 2014, and Miss TSITP 2013 2nd Runner Up. Given the way she performed in this year’s competition, we’re certainly rooting that she vies for another crown soon—she’ll do even better, for sure!
Congratulations, Angelique! The best has yet to come for a dreamer and achiever like you.
