Miss Universe Philippines 2020 fourth runner-up and now ‘pasarela’ coach Billie Hakenson/ARMIN P. ADINA
Billie Hakenson has made a splash in the national pageant scene when she boldly showcased a pixie cut during the first edition of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant in 2020. And after placing as fourth runner-up in the competition, she has evolved to become a mentor for beauty contest aspirants.
Hakenson said she was tapped by her pageant camp Aces and Queens to join the pool of mentors for quick “boot camps” around the country, which also includes her 2020 Miss Universe Philippines batchmate and now 2023 Miss Supranational first runner-up Pauline Amelinckx.
“We started two or three years ago, we hold these boot camps in different provinces, different municipalities all over the Philippines, one of which is Pangasinan,” Hakenson told INQUIRER.net at the post-coronation dinner of the 2024 Limgas na Pangasinan pageant at the Sison Auditorium in Lingayen early morning on April 27.
She and the other mentors from Aces and Queens spent three days with the provincial pageant’s aspirants to teach “pasarela” (pageant walk), question-and-answer, personality development, advocacy-building, styling, modeling, and wardrobe.
Hakenson said such a short time is not enough for any girl to train for a pageant. “But they’re all very competitive. They’re all fast-learners and very eager to learn, which makes it super successful, obviously, as we saw on stage earlier,” she shared.
She handles pasarela, along with esteemed international dance coach Lowell Louie Tan, with their most recent national queens including 2023 Miss Globe second runner-up Anna Valencia Lakrini and 2023 Miss International third runner-up Nicole Borromeo.
“But I prefer working behind the scenes. And I don’t like taking away from, you know, their shine, it’s their moment. I’m just there to help all my sisters from Aces,” said the “Mga Lihim ni Urduja” actress.
She also shared how impressed she was of her Limgas na Pangasinan mentees. “I’m super proud. I know them by name. We call each other ‘mare’ (sis). So pagpunta ko backstage kanina (when I went to the backstage earlier), they’re all like ‘Mare you’re here!’ It feels like they’re already part of Aces and Queens,” she shared.
Hakenson said she is now looking forward to train the three provincial queens—Limgas na Pangasinan World Lhya Yzienne Laylo from Pozorrubio, Limgas na Pangasinan Grand Jenesse Viktoria Mejia from Malasiqui, and Limgas na Pangasinan Mutya Pearline Joy Bayog from Lingayen.
“Hopefully, they get to enjoy their time with Aces and Queens, and hopefully they have a successful journey ahead, and hopefully they get the national titles as well,” Hakenson said.
Mejia will compete in the 2024 Miss Grand Philippines pageant, while Laylo and Bayog will take part in next year’s edition of the Miss World Philippines and Mutya ng Pilipinas contests, respectively.
But as for Hakenson, she said her time onstage is over. “I love watching beauty pageants. But being on that stage is not something that I dream of anymore,” she said.
“I feel like I’ve milked my journey from 2020. I’ve done so much with the title already. The first short-haired, beauty queen, first bisexual, first Cream Silk model with short hair, never in my wildest dream will I achieve all of those. So, kapag umulit pa ako parang sobra na (if I do it again, it will be too much),” she continued.
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