Cover Small Laude wears Valentino, Alice Eduardo in Escada. All jewellery by Tiffany & Co
Small Laude wears Valentino, Alice Eduardo in Escada. All jewellery by Tiffany & Co
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Sisters Alice Eduardo and Small Laude are shining examples in their respective fields. As they headline this year’s Tatler Most Influential List, they share their inspiring journeys and reflect on their triumphs, challenges, the loss of their father and the treasured moments spent with loved ones during the festive season
“Christmas in LA gave us our most precious memories,” reminisces Small Eduardo Laude of those pre-pandemic holidays when the Eduardo family—parents, four siblings, in-laws and nine grandchildren—would hie off to eldest child Alice’s house in California to celebrate the season. They did this for 12 years, but then the pandemic came. Still, it did not matter where they were—as long as they were all together.
This year, lamentably, will be different. The absence of one, patriarch Andres Antonino Eduardo, will be deeply felt even if he passed away almost one year ago, on January 31, 2025, at the age of 90. “Ate still cries a lot and often stays in Dad’s room,” Small says. She, herself, was not prepared. Years ago, they brought their Dad to Singapore for a treatment that gave him an additional 14 years. “Why can it not be the same this time? Maybe not 14 years more, but even just 5?” asks Small, who was in LA with her daughter Allison when Alice called her to come home. “Throughout the flight, I was praying he’d be all right, but it wasn’t meant to be. I had so little time with him.”
Since then, their mother, Elisa Galang Eduardo, who suffers from severe knee problems, has become more of a homebody. The 86-year-old CPA, an astute businesswoman in her active days, also constantly looks for Alice, the founder, president and CEO of Sta Elena Construction and Development Corporation. “You wouldn’t believe what Ate [Filipino title for elder sister] has to go through every day,” Small shares. “Don’t get me wrong. Mum’s okay, lucid and sharp. But she doesn’t want to walk much because of her knees. She always asks for Ate, who now can’t take even a short vacation because Mum will be very anxious.”
It’s true. A week before Small shared this, Tatler was interviewing Alice on the phone for this cover story, whereupon she revealed that she was working from home, doing her full schedule of meetings remotely. “Mum calms down when she hears my voice,” she says. Living in adjacent houses, Alice has learnt to reassure her Mum that she is just nearby even when, once in a while, she sneaks out for an important meeting or a site visit. That day of the interview, the construction magnate was happy that she did not have to pretend.
Read also: Alice Eduardo on leading Santa Elena Construction Corporation by example
Above Alice wears Adrianna Papell, with Tiffany & Co jewellery
Alice wears Adrianna Papell, with Tiffany & Co jewellery
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“The moment she wakes up, Ate goes down to Mum. She has coffee with her, maybe even lunch, then sneaks out for work, but goes back asap. She needs to do this because Mum always asks where she is,” Small adds.
The two are being very careful with their mother these days. If the death of their father, whom Small fondly calls “Daddeh,” still pains them, what more their mum.
Without this painful memory, Small is the epitome of vivacity. “Small brings such joy and energy wherever she is,” Alice describes her sister exactly as how the public perceives the vlogger with 2.4 million followers. A welcome validation for Small, surely, since she has pinpointed “authenticity” as the reason for her social media success. In the seven years since she opened snippets of her life to the public, she has drawn millions to her unpretentious persona. With Small, what you see is what you get, quirks and all.
On the other hand, Ate Alice swung to the serious side: computing kilometre mileages at age 9, in the centre of the court or the field as a bemedalled varsity player and consistently acing her academics throughout her school years. The record of this outstanding student remains a source of pride to her alma mater. On two separate occasions in September 2024, the University of Santo Tomas honoured Alice with The Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Accountancy, Business and Management and the Most Outstanding Alumni in the field of Business Management; this year, it bestowed upon her a Doctor of Commerce degree, honoris causa.
Read also: The breakout star: Small Laude on her road to Youtube stardom
True influence is measured not by how many people know your name, but by how many lives are made better because of what you do
The doctor is, by now, a major player in the construction field. Choosing privately funded collaborations, Alice’s Sta Elena is behind huge infrastructure projects, such as: the Sta Rita Combined Cycle Clean Energy Power Plant in Batangas, a project of the Lopez Group’s First Gen and Germany’s Siemens; the San Gabriel, the Sta Rita and the San Lorenzo power plants, all build-and-design projects of Germany’s Siemens. Sta Elena has also collaborated with UK’s Balfour Beatty, Australia’s McConnell Dowell and the Netherlands’ Ballast Nedam.
Certainly, Alice and Small are two different peas but in the same pod. One, bold red; the other, sweet pink. One in a hard hat; the other, in a fascinator. You get my drift. But for the great influence they wield everywhere and on everyone, they lead Tatler’s final list of the year: The Most Influential for 2025.
The sisters feel honoured by the recognition. “It’s a reminder to continue using whatever platform I have to inspire others, create opportunities and uplift communities, especially those who need it most,” responds Alice. It also “means a lot” to Small. “I value not only the recognition but the responsibility that goes with it,” she says. “It makes me more mindful about why I started what I do [vlogging] and to continue with authenticity.”
Both define “influence” as anchored on purpose. “Being able to instil values that people emulate and hold on to,” Small starts. “Also, to keep it so real that I add value to everything I endorse or believe in so that it translates well and produces positive results.”
Above Small wears Elie Saab gown and Alice, a Paul Cabral gown. All jewellery by Tiffany & Co
Small wears Elie Saab gown and Alice, a Paul Cabral gown. All jewellery by Tiffany & Co
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Alice dives deeper: “It’s the ability to inspire positive change not through words alone, but through consistent action and example. It’s about using what you’ve achieved to open doors for others, to uplift and to make an impact that goes beyond yourself. True influence is measured not by how many people know your name, but by how many lives are made better because of what you do.”
A family affair
Back in the day, the family that’s originally from Nueva Ecija was in agriculture, operated a rice mill and was one of the biggest rice distributors in Manila. They also operated a bowling centre with a restaurant. Their father was the town dentist; their mother managed the businesses.
If Alice, a management graduate of UST, was a Thomasian all the way, Small was a Paulinian, graduating with a management degree as well but from St Paul’s College.
Though based in Manila, ties with Nueva Ecija were never broken. A lot of summer vacations were spent in that province in Central Luzon, all yielding many fun childhood memories. “Too many to count,” Small says.
Alice remembers details. “Since I was a toddler, I have always been amazed at how infra is built,” she reveals. “How must a bridge be supported to keep it strong and safe? I was in Grade 5 when I started computing speed/distance/time with road markers.”
The precocious child was perhaps the bane of the family’s drivers. She’d ask them to teach her how to start the small truck that collected the rice from farmers, eventually learning how to drive while propped up on two tomes of the now-discontinued print telephone directory called Yellow Pages. And much like her literary namesake, the little Alice grew “curiouser and curiouser”. Another question that intrigued her was, “How could a small steering wheel and small pedals run such a big vehicle?”
In Kindergarten, Alice built her first playhouse at the bowling alley (“my playground”) where her father maintained a clinic above. Her materials were whatever she could scrounge around: a small table, scoresheets, soft drink cases.
Small remembers Alice’s playhouses as well as the many hours the sisters, closest in age, played with dolls, toy pots and pans, even dress-up with wigs and make-up. “Small and I also enjoyed roller-skating together,” interjects Alice. But basically, they played with “girly-girly stuff,” says Small who admitted being obsessed, even at a young age, with slathering her skin with lotions.
In spite of the “girly-girly stuff,” Alice still dreamt of being a builder and studying engineering in college. Alas, it would not be so easy. “The elders in my family had a strong influence on what we would study in college; my grandparents, for instance, preferred us to choose either law or medicine,” she says. “So, I was not allowed to take up engineering because they said it did not suit a girl.” Not attracted to law and traumatised into becoming a doctor by an unsavoury sight in a hospital when she was young, Alice was, in the end, allowed to take up a management degree.
Being able to instil values that people emulate and hold on to ... [and] keeping it so real that I add value to everything I endorse ...
But the dream to build never faded. She would find her way, even if it took years, even if the journey would be full of “twists, turns, detours,” as she described in her honoris causa acceptance speech.
On stage at the UST last September, receiving her latest recognition, was a bittersweet moment. “With this honour, I know my Dad would be the proudest of all,” she states, remembering all those graduation ceremonies in the past when her father would be at the venue an hour earlier to watch his precious daughter receive an honour, or more. Ironically, she has fulfilled her Mum’s dream too, who had always wished she’d be a doctor someday. “Well, now she has a doctor, just not in the medical field,” the loving daughter smiles.
Dynamic duo
Ever since Small posted her first vlog in August 2019, she has been bringing immense joy to her millions of followers. It’s a conundrum to many. Her first post, Day 1 in Los Angeles, follows her arrival at the airport, waking up, grocery shopping. How exciting, really, is bagging a pound of tomatoes and checking them out? But somehow, something tugged at the Pinoy heartstrings and in its first five months, Small’s vlog clocked 14,300 subscribers and advertisers.
She explains the success of this vlog suggested to her by a good friend, the broadcast journalist Karen Davila. “Authenticity. Nothing more. I can laugh at myself. I don’t pretend to have it all together. I don’t have the mindset that I’m the best. If I’m criticised, I sometimes agree that maybe my weight is a bit over that day. I don’t curate. I only care about being able to relate,” she elaborates.
The enigma is not about being able to relate but about relating to a large audience spanning several economic classes. Small instantly became a social media phenomenon. Brands pursued her for endorsements; viewers engaged with her.
“A lot of my followers began asking me how I keep my skin clean,” says the vlogger with a beautiful complexion. “So, I thought of making my own skincare products, using my favourite ingredients like niacinamide.” A year ago, she launched Small Steps Skin, formulated in Korea. She reports that the business is doing well and that it is now expanding to include lip tint and lip gloss.
Above Small wears Lanvin gown and Alice, a Randy Ortiz gown. All jewellery by Tiffany & Co
Small wears Lanvin gown and Alice, a Randy Ortiz gown. All jewellery by Tiffany & Co
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Small does not seem to have a selfish streak. She’s not afraid of competition and even generously advises those who would like to give vlogging a try. “Just be real. Be you. Grow organically. Stick to your platform and mission,” she rattles off a list. As to how some luxury lifestyle vlogs are being bashed these days, Small strongly opines, “They deserve it for blatantly flaunting what isn’t theirs in the first place.”
Generosity is in these sisters’ genes. Alice is well known for her quiet philanthropy, always ready to support favourite causes without the aegis of a foundation or a non-profit. Her assistance covers a lot of ground: culture, art and sports; terminal illnesses like cancer; educational scholarships, especially for young artists and athletes; mentorship of young entrepreneurs; assistance in protecting abused children; disaster aid, especially during natural calamities; construction and restoration of churches. Top on this long list is the dedicated ward for children with cancer at the Philippine General Hospital.
In their productive life, Alice and Small still leave room to dream. “I’m not done yet!” Small declares. “I still want to do a few things for the vlog and for myself, businesswise.”
“Absolutely!” Eduardo is as emphatic. “I believe there should always be room for new goals, no matter how much you’ve accomplished. Success is not a finish line, rather, a continuing journey of growth, learning and giving back.”
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Credits
Content Direction: Anton San Diego
Photography: Wesley Villarica
Set Design: Rocket Design Studio
Styling: Monique Madsen
Make-Up: Carell Garcia (for Small Laude), RB Chanco (for Alice Eduardo)
Hair: Rowena Sonido
Photography Assistant: Jason Sevilla, Sandy Gabon
Production: Isabel Francisco, Dowee Untivero, Michelle Soriano, Johannah Reglos
Location: Siren Studios
Topics
A journalist of more than 30 years, Chit has had varied exposures in this field, both in hard news as well as in soft news, and brings everything she has learnt to the production of the magazine. When not writing or editing, Chit is deeply involved in her chosen service organisation, Rotary International.
