Alice Colet-Villadolid

As teacher and practitioner of print journalism, Alice Colet Villadolid has advocated moral values and ethics in the profession.

Soon after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Santo Tomas in 1952, she taught Ethics and Advanced Composition at the College of Arts and Letters of UST.

She also attended the UST Graduate School (earning 40 units in English and Social Science) and the International Institute of Journalism in Berlin where she obtained a Trainor's Certificate. She learned the practice of journalism in the mid-1950's as reporter and copy editor of the "Manila Chronicle." In 1971, she began filing news and features for "The New York Times," serving as Philippine correspondent until 1986.

She also wrote for Newsweek International and Asiaweek. She has served on the editorial boards of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Manila Bulletin, Philippine Graphic Forum and Interface newsmagazines. She is the author of three books: "A Journal of Faith" published in 1996; "Filipinos - a Century Back and Forward" published in 2000; and "Mills of Justice Grind On" published in 2002. She has co-authored with Dr. Crispin Maslog "A Manual of Ethnic Reporting" and "Science Writing." In 2001, after the EDSA II change of government, she co-authored "The Impeachment of a President" with her husband. Ret. Ambassador Oscar S. Villadolid. Alice Villadolid also served the Philippine Government, having joined the Aquino Administration in 1986 as spokesperson and chief of the Presidential Press Staff. Later she worked with the GRP Negotiating Panel for Peace. She helped re-engineer the Presidential Press Staff into what is now the Office of the Press Secretary.

She left the government in late 1987 and joined the Philippine Press Institute where she worked with publisher-editors in professional training and in updating and promoting "The Filipino Journalist's Code of Ethics." Later, she was appointed ombudsman of the Philippine Daily Inquirer where she devised a system for monitoring ethics and standards within the paper. She continued to promote cultural values as member of the private-sector committees of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). As private-sector commissioner for dissemination of the NCCA in 1998-2000, she organized cultural seminars and information campaigns. Since 1996, she has taught news development and craft of writing at the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication.

Both parents of Alice Colet Villadolid had a high regard for communication. Her father. Judge Jose Torrijos Colet of Bangued, Abra, wrote short stories under the pen name 'Amirtagra' when he was still studying at the Philippine Law School in Intramuros. Her mother, Trinidad F. Millan of Asingan, Pangasinan, was the older sister of Luciano F. Millan, the Malacanang reporter of the Manila Bulletin before he ran for Congress and won as representative of Pangasinan's fifth district. They were related to Camilo Millan, the Spanish editor of 'Eco de Filipinas' who later became governor of Ilocos Norte; and to the Spanish deacon of Vigan, Tomas Millan, the guardian of Gabriela Silang.

Completing her elementary education in 1944 from the Holy Spirit Academy in Bangued; high school in 1948 from the Rizal Academy in Asingan, both times with valedictory honors, Alice Colet Villadolid went for college education to the University of Santo Tomas. There she got excellent training in English composition and literature from Professors Carolina Garcia, Erlinda Rustia and Clemencia Colayco. In her sophomore year, she qualified for the staff of the Varsitarian monthly magazine as columnist on campus affairs.

In March 1952, she received the Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude. While waiting for a promised teaching load, she was interviewed for a reportorial position in 'The Manila Chronicle.' There she was trained for a career in journalism by the Chronicle editors - Anacleto Benavidez, Indalecio Soliongco and Luis Mauricio. She was rapidly moved from the education-religion beat to the foreign affairs beat, and in 1954, to the copy desk. Along with her feature stories, the Chronicle gave page-one play to her stories on the Japanese Reparations Agreement and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.

Journalists' styles in the mid-1950's were more formal and professional than those that came to prevail towards the end of the century. Reporters dressed properly and interviewed their sources politely. Among Alice's colleagues in the diplomatic beat were wire service editor Rodolfo Nazareno, Manila Times star reporter Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino and the Philippines Herald's Oscar S. Villadolid.

Oscar and Alice decided on a life partnership, getting married in January 1956. Since Alice had been teaching at UST part-time since 1952, she switched to full-time teaching and went on leave from journalism. The Villadolids were blessed with a large family - nine children - all of whom communicate well.

Alice Colet Villadolid returned to journalism in 1971 as local correspondent of "The New York Times.' The Philippines was a prime international beat as the government of Ferdinand Marcos struggled to contain the Muslim and leftwing NPA insurgencies. Travelling to various cities in Muslim Mindanao, Colet Villadolid reported to the 'Times' on the early stages of the Moro National Liberation Front rebellion, including the peace negotiations initiated by the Marcos government. In Manila, the struggle of middle- and left-wing activists against increasing authoritarian controls boiled to a crisis and Alice joined scores of other Filipino and foreign reporters covering the street demonstrations, some of which were violently suppressed.

When the Marcoses clamped down with martial rule on September 22, 1972 and censorship was imposed, Alice Villadolid was able to file an uncensored story to the 'Times' by using a telex machine that had been installed earlier in her home. Like treading on eggshells, she continued reporting about the authoritarian Marcos government to the 'Times', also to Newsweek International and Asiaweek.She waited with about a hundred other journalists at Manila's international airport on August 21, 1983, the day Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino was coming home from his U.S. exile to make peace with the Marcos government. He was treacherously assassinated. Alice's unbylined story was bannered the next day. Later, she closely covered the assassination probe done by the Agrava Commission and the Tanodbayan.

In the three years that followed, media attention turned to the widow, Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, who did not hesitate to continue the fight for democracy. Following Cory Aquino to Palawan during the presidential election campaign of 1985, Alice was mistaken by the crowd for the candidate herself. She was mobbed and had to be helped out from the crowd by her fellow journalists.

After the EDSA People Power Revolt of 1986 which led to the swearing in of Cory Aquino as head of the restored democracy, Colet Villadolid was moved to serve the new government. President Aquino appointed her chief of the Presidential Press Staff and deputy spokesperson.

Since the old Ministry of Information had been abolished, Alice helped other officials of the President in re-engineering the information office into a more efficient Office of the Press Secretary. Internal conflicts caused her to transfer to the Government Negotiating Panel for Peace then chaired by Teofisto Guingona. She managed the information program about the first peace effort with the National Democratic Front.

After Government talks with the NDF broke down, Alice returned to the private sector as executive director of the Philippine Press Institute. Under the leadership of Publisher Joaquin 'Chino' Roces, the training programs of the PPI were executed nationwide by Adiai J. Amor and Colet Villadolid. The output of the science writing and ethnic reporting programs were expanded into manuals by Crispin Maslog and Colet Villadolid. In 1988, the Journalist's Code of Ethics was upgraded into the 11-point 'Filipino Journalist's Code of Ethics' and Alice campaigned among media organizations for its adoption.

She also campaigned for new members such that by the time she left the organization for a foreign assignment, the PPI had enlisted over a hundred newspapers under its wing. Returning to the Philippines in 1996 after her husband's stint as ambassador to the Vatican, Colet Villadolid resumed a teaching career at the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication.

She also joined the national committees for communication and information of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Elected commissioner for cultural dissemination in 1998, she organized information campaigns and training seminars. From 1997-98, Colet-Villadolid concurrently worked as readers' advocate or ombudsman of the 'Philippine Daily Inquirer'. She initiated a daily editorial audit of the paper, patterned after the 'New York Times' frontings. She assisted Publisher Isagani Yambot in conducting weekly meetings of the editors to discuss technical and ethical lapses of the paper. Alice continued to write for Panorama, Philippine Graphic, Interface and Forum magazines.

She compiled her religion and Vatican stories into the "Journal of Faith" published in 1996; her coverage of the Senate trial of President Joseph Estrada, along with her husband's commentary, in "The Impeachment of a President," published in 2001; and her coverage of the Estrada trial at the Sandiganbayan and Supreme Court in "Mills of Justice Grind On," published in 2002. She wrote her memoirs for the millennium under the title, "Filipinos - A Century Back and Forward." In 2003, she published an anthology entitled "Heart and Soul of Archipelago."