Lin-ay sang Negros – Jada Biaxyl Celeste (center) first runner up Maxine Louise Martin of Ilog (right) and second runner up Julianah Cassandra Makilan of Manapla.*Ronnie Baldonado photo
The pageant journey of Jada Biaxyl Celeste, 21, the Victorias City beauty who was crowned the new Lin-ay sang Negros, has been like a Cinderella story.
Just like the character in the fairytale, she was a house helper who became a queen.
Jada claimed a back-to-back win for Victorias City at the Lin-ay sag Negros pageant of the Panaad sa Negros Festival before a crowd of about 9,000 at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City on Friday, March 28.
But behind her win is a story of hard work while growing up and helping her grandmother who works as a housekeeper.
She never met her father while her mother was working in Manila, which is why her grandmother Emily, who is now 72, took care of her and in return she helped her with her housekeeping work for the Bernabe family in Bacolod.
“My mother also helped in raising me but mostly all of my needs were provided by my grandmother”, Jada said.
When she studied high school and senior high school, the family where her grandmother works helped her with her education by providing her allowance and paying for her tuition.
When the opportunity came for her to join beauty pageants she did not hesitate. She joined Miss Bacolod MassKara and tried her luck in the Sidlak Kadalag-an Queen 2024 and won.
In 2024, Victorias won the e Lin-ay sang Negros crown through Kyla Rose Romarate, and for Jada, it put a pressure on her to be her predecessor.
Jada said that she started her preparation for the Lin-ay sang Negros pageant in July last year under the guidance of a pageant camp and a beauty queen who won a national and international pageant.
When the pageant began, she said that she really felt the competition but remained composed.
Jada said she had doubts because she did not have any awards from the pre-pageant activities but her self-reliance assured her that maybe her time to shine would be on the coronation night.
Jada was one of 27 candidates from various parts of Negros Occidental who competed for crown
During the almost 5-hour show, Jada won the Best in Swimsuit and Best in Evening Gown awards, which led her to become one of the 10 semifinalists.
“The support was really overwhelming and I was surprised that there were a lot of Victoriasanons in the grandstand who supported me despite the weather”, she said.
Jada aced the preliminary question and answer portion in the top 10 segment and became one of the five finalists along with the contestants from Hinigaran, Ilog, Toboso, and Manapla.
The five finalists were asked only one question – what advise should they give to a best friend who is about to break promise.
“I tried to focus on myself to boost my confidence and during the final question and answer I was closing my eyes and composed myself not to overthink the possible questions that would come”, Jada said.
She rooted her response in the essence of Panaad Sa Negros, which is fulfilling a promise, saying “Promises are meant to be fulfilled, just like how we do it every year here in Panaad Sa Negros”.
On hearing that she won, Jada said she thanked the Lord for answering her prayers.
With her win, she plans to use the platform to push her advocacy on women empowerment and gender equality by collaborating with the provincial government.
Being a victim of sexual harassment, Jada said she wants to create a self-defense program for the women and youth not just to help them defend themselves but also to boost their confidence to report abuse.
Jada is a sophomore Marketing and Economics student at the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod.
She thanked her team, her manager, and Victorias Mayor Javier Benitez for their support in her journey and urged the Negrense women who aspire to join beauty pageants to make it as a platform to share their stories.
“Pageantry is not an easy path to take but it can be a platform to share your stories. It allowed me to reach out to other people and aside from my advocacy you get to meet a lot of people which opens you to a lot of opportunities”, she said.
With her reign as Lin-ay sang Negros, Jada will receive a scholarship grant from the Negros Occidental provincial government covering her tuition, along with the list of cash prizes from the LGU and other sponsors.
When asked if there was a change after she was crowned as the new Lin-ay, she said there is none, “at the end of the day, I am still Jada and the crown is just another title added to my belt.”
“I am still Jada who still helps my Lola”, she said.*