From college graduation she hopped on the newspaper bandwagon right away—and never left, yet, or even paused at all. Millet Martinez Mananquil, lifestyle editor par excellence, has made the soft side of news her life’s focus, elevating it in the process to journalism with substance. “Happiness is making the Lifestyle section not only about society and fashion, but also about art, culture, history, heritage, preserving the environment, family, youth, health, interior design, architecture... raising people's consciousness and stirring consciences,” she tells Tatler.

To achieve this involved not only hard work but sacrifice. Mananquil remembers what her high-school-aged daughter told her: “Mum, I want to be like you, but I don’t want to be like you. I want to be a journalist like you, but I want to see my children grow. And I want to have a life.” This, in a nutshell, referred to late nights because of presswork, stolen moments such as driving her children to school. And yet, Mananquil says, “One day I just woke up to see them all grown-up.”

She’s come to the ripe age of retirement but has not made the leap. Though she has a vision of what life will be like: “Perhaps when I retire, it will be with a paintbrush in one hand and a cup of Korean ramyeon noodles on the other.”