Spotlight

Mafae Yunon-Belasco: The Crown & Beyond

By Nico Belasco

Mafae Yunon-Belasco’s journey starts in the beautiful islands of the Philippines. She was born to two loving parents, Marijess and Manolito, who, when Mafae was six years old, made the courageous decision to move to Sydney, Australia. In her childhood years, Mafae learned to live as a Filipina abroad and in doing so found a home in the “Land Down Under”. Despite their surroundings, the Yunon family proudly carried on their Pinoy roots in many ways. In their house Tagalog was spoken, the smell of Filipino food often filled the air, and Pinoy values were instilled in everyone. It was her connection to the motherland that led Mafae back to the Philippines to pursue a path that would leave a lasting impact on people across the world.

Mafae is best known for her success in the beauty pageant industry, having won prestigious awards locally and internationally, such as Miss Philippines Australia 1998, Binibining Pilipinas World 2003 (prominently landing top 5 in the Miss World competition of the same year held in Sanya, China), and Mrs. Philippines Globe 2008. Her pageant journey was fueled by her eagerness to give back to the underprivileged communities that she had come across during her time in the Philippines. With her crown and sash, Mafae used her platform to help people all over the country, young and old, improve their livelihood through givebacks.

She has since gone on to channel her pageant expertise into image consulting for Binibinig Pilipinas. Mafae also took on the role of Personality Development Director for the Miss World Philippines in 2021 and Pageant Director of KUMU Global Pageants where she and her team produced two virtual pageants with over 20,000 viewers tuned in. In addition to this, she was appointed as a board member for the Miss Universe Philippines 2022 competition, and was among the prestigious few to select the next representative for the country.

Mafae Yunon-Belasco

Image credits: Nico Belasco Photography

In photo: Mafae walking the runway at Philippine Fashion Week for Jun-Jun Cambe.

Image credits: Jun-Jun Cambe

After her time in pageantry, Mafae reinvented herself and dove even deeper into the world of modeling. She quickly gained vast experience as a commercial, ramp and print model. Her portfolio consists of work with some of the Philippines top designers, brands, and publications. Some highlights in Mafae’s career include walking the runways of Philippine Fashion Week, shooting commercials with world renowned brands like Mastercard, Mitsubishi, and Coke, appearing as a model mentor for Philippines Next Top Model’s Cycle 2, and traveling overseas to model in countries like Singapore, America, and Australia. Mafae has appeared on the covers of magazines such as Speed Magazine, Women’s Journal Magazine, Offcam Magazine, Mirror Magazine, and Rockwell Magazine, where she has shared her story

In addition to this, Mafae has had her fair share in television and events hosting. Her time in front of the cameras opened up a whole new world for her, and awakened her passion for using her voice. Mafae enjoys passing on her knowledge and experiences through her talks, workshops, podcasts, and shows in which she does on a weekly basis. She stands firm in her mission of making the world a better place as a certified life and personality development coach, sacred space holder and well-being boost facilitator wherein she helps others become their best selves through positive mindset guidance.

Despite wearing many hats, Mafae finds time to do what she loves. In 2015, she founded Mafae Management Consultancy, a company dedicated to empowering companies and individuals in public

In photo: Mafae conducting a personality development workshop for an international company in the Philippines.

mage credits: Nico Belasco

relations & marketing, content creation, events management, online show production, and social media management. Mafae and her team have worked with clients all over the world to help raise brand awareness and establish online and offline presence.

In addition to this, she and her husband, former PBA player and coach, Nic Belasco, founded the Belasco Unlimited Skills Academy (BUSA), a sports academy that specializes in coaching basketball and tennis, with Nic and Mafae at the helm of classes. Since its start, BUSA has helped athletes from across the country develop their love for sports and find a home on their respective courts. BUSA has an extensive amount of time in doing givebacks, through collaborations with local barangays and even work with organizations like One World School of Autism, Canadian American School and Miss World Philippines.

In photo: Mafae coaching tennis.

Image credit: Nico Belasco

Today Mafae is a certified Life Coach who is passionate about empowering others with her family campaign #SaveLivesOnline, which aims to populate the digital world with content that uplifts and empowers everyone. She was awarded 100 Most Influential Filipino Women on

October 2022 Filipino American History Month Fest Volunteers

LinkedIn 2021 and took on the roles of Australia Region Head & Dean of the Kumu Creators Academy for KUMU. Mafae lives by her motto “The World Is Yours” and “Time + productivity = success”, and aims to bring the best out of everyone around her.

With all of her awards and accolades, Mafae’s biggest treasure is being a mother, bringing up her own young leaders; her 6 children, Nico 23, Mike 20, Moses 18, Nicole 14, Noah 7 & Melo 3. The cherry on top is her husband Nic Belasco, who supports and mentors her in all that she does.

In 2022, Mafae and her family made the big move back to America to start a new chapter in their lives. Team Belasco landed in California on June 2, 2022 and have since established themselves in various organizations throughout their new home in Stockton. Mafae has taken on the roles of Marketing Head for the Filipino American National Historical Society Stockton Chapter and Vice President of Kommunity Hub, who both have the goal of uplifting Filipinos in America.

From her journey to the crown and beyond it, Mafae has proven that with a positive mindset, and a giving heart, anything is possible.

Linda Claramo, President

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