The business world knows Alice Eduardo as president and CEO of Sta. Elena Construction and Development, builder of large-scale projects such as SM Malls (Mall of Asia included), SMDC high rises, and some of the buildings that make up Parañaque’s Entertainment City including City of Dreams and Solaire Resort and Casino.

Eduardo is also a philanthropist. She’s helped build homes with Habitat for Humanity and supports a number of charitable organizations including Child Protection Network, Red Cross Charity, Go Negosyo for young and aspiring entrepreneurs, Philippine Cancer Society, and Caritas Manila.

But very little is known about the private Alice, which she opened up about recently when she gave an exclusive tour of her lavish Forbes Park home to “Headstart” and “TV Patrol” anchor Karen Davila in the latter’s YouTube channel (the episode has clocked in 3 million views in just 13 days). She shared not only insights on building a beautiful, pleasurable home but the experiences and challenges that engineered her into becoming the “Woman of Steel” she is now.

‘Walang hindi kayang gawin’

Eduardo has always wanted to become an engineer, according to her website aliceeduardo.com. But her mother wanted her to pursue nursing or medicine. As a compromise, she took up management and helped run the family’s businesses. The Eduardos were into rice milling, trading, and garments export, among others.

Managing businesses became second nature to Eduardo, having started doing it pretty early. “Bababa lang ako ng bahay namin, nandoon ang bowling, nandoon ang restaurant, bakery, dry goods. Parang naging ordinary lang sa akin ang tumulong, pumunta sa counter, mag-check, mag-command or mag-lead sa mga tao,” the eldest of four siblings told Davila.

“Walang hindi kayang gawin” has been her mantra ever since she began her career in construction 28 years ago—a career jumpstarted by her own curiosity and drive to succeed. One of the clients of their family’s rice mill, Concrete Aggregates, asked if she’d be interested to be its supplier of steel splices. “Sa akin noon, lahat pwedeng gawin,” she said to Davila with a laugh. “Kahit hindi ako sure, sasabihin ko, meron akong ganyan.” Concrete Aggregates provided her a particular design and Eduardo jumped at the opportunity. She was able to supply the right materials and this kickstarted her dream career.

Her first major project was the Bacnotan Steel Plant in Batangas. Big clients entrusted her with huge projects despite being a newbie in the construction biz—they must have seen her sincerity, passion and aggressiveness. “If people see that you have the drive, guts na gawin ang project, [they will give the project to you],” she said in Davila’s vlog.

Eduardo exceeded her own expectations. Her life goal when she was younger was just to have personal savings worth Php 10 million—but she earned her first billion as early as her first decade in the business.

Managing her own finances was something the lady learned early on. Even as a kid, she already knew the value of saving money. “Noong bata ako ang baon ko 10 pesos. Every lunchtime pupunta ako sa bangko para mag-deposit ng three pesos,” she says. She was not into buying expensive clothes and bags—those she borrowed from her mother; her only luxury was food. “Hindi ako nagtitipid sa food,” she said. “Anything na gusto kong kainin bibilhin ko.”

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Always excited

It’s been 28 years since she started Sta. Elena and while many things have changed—she’s much richer now, for one—some things remain the same. “Walang kaibahan nung nagsisimula pa lang. Every time magsisimula ako ng bagong project, sobra akong excited. Every time matapos ako ng isang project, excited na excited ako.”

This stems from the sense of accomplishment she feels seeing what her company has built. “Pag nakita ko ang NLEX pag dumadaan ako, nae-excite ako up to now. We did that,” she told Davila. “Dahil sa NLEX naging convenient magbiyahe. Then nasundan yun ng mga sunud-sunod na skyways.”

Like most people who run businesses, Eduardo experienced losses. Her company took a hit during the Asian Financial Crisis but what differentiates her from other business leaders is, despite the hurdles, the woman carries on with the same fervor. “Hindi pwedeng pag heyday bukas ka, tapos pag medyo down ang business isasara mo,” she said, dispensing advice to Davila’s viewers. “Dapat alam mong i-sustain.”

Another secret to her success is putting a premium on people’s trust. “Sino ang gusto mong gumawa ng house mo? A contractor that you can trust!” she told Davila. Through the years, Eduardo said she has made it a point not to do anything that would tarnish her reputation.

Leaving a marriage

Eduardo is a single mother to three kids—Jacqueline, Jameson and Jessica. She admitted to Davila that it was not an easy decision to end her marriage and would have chosen to do it when their kids were already more mature. But then she realized one morning that she had to do it out of self-respect and for her and her ex-husband’s peace of mind.

“Ang iniisip ko na lang, ito siguro ang plan sa akin ni Lord, that is why nangyari iyong magkahiwalay kami ng ex-husband ko,” she told her interviewer. “Marami naman akong nagawa, natulungan. Baka naging limited [ang pwede kong gawin] kung nandon ako sa marriage na yun.”

Raising a child with autism

In the YouTube vlog, Davila asked Eduardo to talk about her only son and youngest child Jameson who was diagnosed with autism when he was much younger. At this point in the interview, the Woman of Steel had to pause, perhaps to stop herself from breaking into tears in front of the camera.

“Doc, can you still cure my son?” Eduardo remembered asking the pediatrician when she was told Jameson had autism. The doctor said the condition can only be managed. Upon hearing this, Eduardo was brought to tears. “[Naisip ko] kawawa naman [ang anak ko]. Paano siya magkakaroon ng sarili niyang family? Sino makakasama niya pagtanda niya if wala siyang sariling family? Yun ang naging worry ko noon,” she said. “Sabi ko, paano na siya pag wala ako?”

For a while, Eduardo said she was in denial, even enrolling her son to a regular school. But later on, she realized it would be best to get the needed nurturing and support from a school for kids with special needs.

But while she was earlier heartbroken over Jameson’s situation, said Eduardo, she later on understood God’s wisdom behind it. “Siya pala ang magiging kasama ko every day, every night, sa lahat ng struggles ko siya. Siya ang mag-iinsipire din talaga sa akin,” she said in the interview. “Every time I look at him then we pray together, [I feel like] everything’s okay.”

For more of Eduardo’s interview with Davila, click on this link.