BY JOANNE RAE M. RAMIREZ
Without trumpeting her accomplishments, the soft-spoken Alice G. Eduardo, construction magnate and philanthropist, has built a reputation as solid as steel. Her work is the Alice Eduardo narrative, as told by highways and skyways, ports and power plants, bridges and buildings, churches and charity wards. “I try and avoid falling into thinking that my work is merely a list of contracts,” she says.
Known as the Philippines’ “Woman of Steel” for all the marvels she has built, Alice, president and CEO of Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corp., continues to be humble, self-effacing and sensitive to the needs and feelings of others.
Her humanity despite her concrete success and social status, when it would have been natural to retreat into her own circle, makes her the poster girl for success without borders.
“Because you already have more, you have even more reasons to be humble,” says Alice, who was born to an affluent family from Nueva Ecija. Her father, Andres, is a dentist and, her mother, the former Elisa Galang, is a certified public accountant.
Alice is now building the groundwork for at least three big-ticket projects: a marina along Roxas Boulevard, a power plant and land development. Each project has her personal supervision, from the drawing board to completion. Sta. Elena is a Triple A (meaning with capitalization of at least P1 billion) and large B (which qualifies her to bid for any billion-peso project) contractor.
“I’m really so careful about my reputation, as always. I make my work ethic beyond reproach, and my sincerity — that my aim is really for the common interest — unquestionable. For the country, not just for my own good. Because if only for my own good, I could undertake easier, less challenging projects,” says Alice, who, yes, still wears hard hats and sneakers when visiting job sites.
“I believe that success gives you a mission. God gave this blessing to me, and with it, a responsibility. ‘Alice, you have that capability to do something for others — your family, your friends, your country. You can do something.’”
“You already have an edge, so why not use that to bring others up? I see my success as an avenue to actively hold others. Every day. I count my blessings, and I try to make my blessings count. So that sense of contributing ingrained something in me and has become a part of me. With all the breaks that have come my way, there is also that instinctive desire to pay it forward.
“As a work philosophy, I believe heavy duty construction is about passion and heart. It matters to me that I make a personal connection with each project I choose to pursue. This mindset allows me to embrace every project with the same inspiration as the first. I try and avoid falling into thinking that my work is merely a list of contracts. Each must have unique vision, purpose and personal meaning,” she stresses.
“I cherish every project as the team’s part in nation building, and also as fulfillment in my own journey as a builder and leader. It has been said that excellence is not an event but a habit. That is how I view my craft.”
Alice’s projects are not just confined to business. She builds relationships and communities. She finds joy, not just satisfaction, in a job well done, when her clients are more than happy with Sta. Elena’s work.
“I want everyone happy — my family, my clients, my friends. I don’t want to be the cause of their frustration and sadness. As much as possible, I want everyone happy.”
Of course, this attention to detail for a sturdy and polished finished project reaps dividends for Alice, who has practically built all of Entertainment City in Pasay. Aside from numerous edifices and virtually all the foundation work of buildings from Cavite City to Smokey Mountain, from Batangas to Pampanga, Taguig to Pasig, she has also built ports and airports; power plants, bridges and buildings; highways and Skyways all over the country.
Fulfilling a childhood dream
Alice has always wanted to be an engineer, one who wore hard hats in dusty construction sites and built things from scratch.
“When I was a child, I would build a playhouse,” she remembers. “I would ask help from our pin boys and helpers in our bowling center.”
But the porcelain-skinned and soft-spoken Alice, who comes from a very traditional Filipino family, was discouraged by her mother from going into construction when she was deciding on what to pursue in college. In the ’80s, engineering was thought of as a man’s job.
“My mother wanted me to become a doctor, or nurse,” recalls Alice.
As a compromise, Alice graduated with a degree in management from the University of Sto. Tomas. Dutifully, she helped out in the family business, rice milling and garments manufacturing. She and her sister Small (now a celebrity influencer with millions of followers) exported jogging sets, shirts and dresses for children to the US.
Then she managed a rice mill owned by her parents. The road to Alice’s wonderland opened up in 1995 when she was asked to supply steel to a construction project. For someone who always wanted to be in construction, it was an opportunity to realize her dreams. Alice gave her all.
“We were big in rice supply, but when Concrete Aggregates contracted me for its steel requirement, I delivered!” That was the start of the fulfillment of Alice’s childhood dream.
If she didn’t get into construction, what path would she have pursued?
“I still would have found a way to go into construction, but I would open a flower shop on the side,” reveals Alice, whose home and office always have fresh flowers, arranged like an art installation.
Has being a woman ever been an obstacle for Alice? “Never,” she quickly replies. “I just kept on working, delivering on my promises. I still keep on working.”
Whenever she makes a presentation, she makes sure she does her homework and leaves the rest to God.
“Every time I go to a meeting, I just pray, ‘Lord, please let me meet with someone who has a good heart and help me to make the right decision’.”
Because she knows the business and has a photographic memory, especially for figures, she never gets stumped when asked a question related to her presentation.
Is it possible to be both kind and successful? Or does one have to give up one trait for the other?
“When you’re successful, the more you have to be kind. You have to be more sensitive to others.”
If Alice is passionate about construction, she is equally zealous about charity.
Her work, aside from her various charities, is like a personal mission to Alice, who is also one of Forbes Asia’s Heroes of Philanthropy for 2018.
She is a trustee of the Philippine General Hospital Foundation and the Child Protection Network; a prime mover of Habitat for Humanity International, which builds houses for the poor; a staunch supporter of Caritas’ social action services and integrated programs. In 2014, she donated the Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Isolation Ward in PGH.
In 2015, she financed the construction of Bahay Silungan in PGH and built 100 houses for Typhoon Yolanda victims. She financed the construction of two classroom buildings at Tuloy Foundation.
She also financed scholarships through the Empowering Women Scholarship Program of Zonta Club of Makati and Environs and the Rotary Club of Manila and to other deserving students.
A devoted daughter of Nueva Ecija, she personally funded the construction of the San Agustin Parish with parish hall in 2012 at Jaen, Nueva Ecija, reportedly for P80 million.
And these are not all.
She may not be able to help everybody, but when she does, her motto is, “When you give, you give from the heart. Otherwise, it’s a waste.”
Loving mother & daughter
Alice checks on her parents every day and never forgets the times when they would accompany her to her projects. They would wait in the car, her mother often praying the rosary while waiting.
She knows her mother doesn’t sleep till she is home, so she checks in with her at the end of a long day, too.
She is a proud mother to Jacqueline, executive vice president at Sta. Elena, Jessica and James, who are all respectful and humble like their mother.
What does Jacqueline admire in her mother, whom she works closely with?
“Her kindness,” answers Jacqueline in a heartbeat. “To be kind, I think, that’s the first thing. To get along with everyone, almost everyone. Not to get into any drama. And then everything else will follow.”
Alice’s dream now is to be able to see in her lifetime an expressway from North Luzon Expressway passing Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela and Cagayan with the same alignment of the Cagayan Valley road. She remembers that when she was younger, it took only an hour to get to Nueva Ecija, since it’s only 100 kilometers away from Luneta, Manila. Once, it was nationally known as the Rice Granary of the Philippines, producing the rice yield in the country. Now, it takes four hours from Manila to Nueva Ecija, a hindrance to economic growth in the region and stable supply and prices of rice, vegetables and spices.
“Achieving the highway connectivity had a significant impact on the economy of those provinces. It would also promote economic growth and development in the country.”
Alice Eduardo dreams big, not just for herself but for her country. Politics is not her cup of tea, she stresses. But the highway to her dreams leads not to her own Shangri-La — but to a place where her countrymen can fulfill their own dreams, too.
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Photography by Mark Chester Ang
Art direction by Dexter Francis De Vera
Styling assistance by Rudolph Leonor
Hair and makeup by RB Chanco
