The Extraordinary Eggie

As our way of remembering our dear friend Eggie Apostol on what would have been her 101st birthday on Sept. 29, my wife Neni has written this, reliving a years-old friendship.

“I knew Eggie as already larger than life even before her numerous awards and tributes as a feisty journalist who helped topple two Philippine presidents. Her byline in her ‘lipstick beat’ interested me as a student impressed with the printed word, and I was in special awe of her as part of a highly talented superwomen trio that included my first cousin Doreen Gamboa Fernandez whom I was especially close to, and the one and only Gilda Cordero Fernando.

Doreen introduced me, an aspiring and eager writer, to Eggie who promptly gave me an assignment for a personality sketch – largely based on Doreen’s sterling credentials, with Eggie hoping I had a fraction of Doreen’s gifts and dedication. Well, I did the interview but never delivered the article. Yes, I failed that first test and I do not even recall why. Fortunately, Eggie did not strike me off her roster of contributors.

The day after I defended my thesis for my MA in English Literature at the Ateneo – I must confess that in the many lonely hours of research and writing and wondering who would ever read my thesis on Casiano Calalang, one of the first Filipino writers attempting to write in English soon after the Thomasites taught the language, I was determined to write for an outlet that the public could easily access. So, I bravely went back to Eggie who gave me the most insignificant assignment for neophytes – to write about a Christmas bazaar in her Woman’s Home Companion magazine.

I promptly delivered and to this day, I take such pride in that first published innocuous article. She began to give me more frequent assignments especially for her newly-launched Mr. & Ms. Magazine. I initially enjoyed interviewing interesting high-profile couples like Ed and Gloria Angara, Christian and Winnie Monsod, Leo and Anabel Alejandrino… but grew weary of the couple formula.

In a sense, she took me under her wings, taking me to different cultural events, interesting sights in Manila like the tree house of Rodney Cornelio in San Andres, even having my young family use her Tali Beach House. She was always lively and fun-loving. And how she laughed when I relayed Elfren’s admiring comment, “Eggie must have been something in her youth.”

She was responsible for my first “non-book,” assigning me to interview, write, and compile “50 Outstanding Women in Medicine.” I am amused that today, I have not included this commissioned book along with my over a dozen published “legitimate” books (hey, all with ISBNs, mind you).

And then the landscape radically changed with the assassination of returning exile, Ninoy Aquino, a month after the WOMEN (Women Writers in Media Now) delegation of 10 I was privileged to be part of.

Eggie was no longer into soft women’s magazine stuff and was into anti-dictatorship publishing. She was incensed at the level of coverage of the Malacañang-controlled press, ignoring the unprecedented day-long funeral cortege for the slain senator, focusing instead on the death of a man struck during by lightning during the funeral march.

Eggie’s Mr. & Ms. weekly began to run its black and white supplement dedicated to truth, justice, and reconciliation. One of Eggie’s most hurried assignments was for me to interview the newly-arrived Cory Aquino from Boston. She picked me up in her chauffeured Mercedes Benz and off we went to interview Cory at the Cojuangco home in Dasmariñas Village. I had little sleep finishing that because Eggie needed it badly for her supplement. This was the beginning of close to two dozen one-on-one extended interviews and many private interviews with the woman in yellow.

Eggie did not realize it but I owe her my writing life – that is why when my first book of essays “Sundays of our Lives” was published by Anvil Publishing in 1995, it had to be Eggie writing the introduction. She must have been disappointed that my essays were restrained and not confessional enough, but she concluded with “But in this day when all around the world women are baring their most intimate secrets, Neni is not about to, and we are thankful to find in her writings much sensitivity and strength, as well as that now rare quality, dignity.”

It is my big regret that right after the book was launched with Joker Arroyo who was featured in one of the essays as special guest and speaker, all the copies of the book were lost in a warehouse fire of the publishing company. Thus, the book was never circulated and I find myself still looking for stray copies in garage sales. If only for Eggie’s introductory comments, I am lobbying for a reprint.

The last time I saw Eggie was in 2015, in preparation for Elfren’s and my book, “The Aquino Legacy: An Enduring Narrative.” She warmly received me in her Dasmariñas home but was no longer as lively nor full of memories.

But one remains forever grateful for her warmth and friendship, her mentorship. You are truly an extraordinary woman warrior, Eggie.

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