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MANILA, Philippines — Jullie Yap-Daza was supposed to only make “kuwento” (tell her story) at the University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) recent grand alumni homecoming in Manila Hotel; but she ended up giving a “keynote address” to the deans, faculty and other distinguished alumni of the Faculty of Arts and Letters of Asia’s oldest university.
At the grand gala night with the theme “From Pen to Pixels: Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future,” Yap-Daza recalled her “magical” journey into Journalism.
“I want to share with you a tiny story that my landing in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters was somehow magical,” she said.
She assured her audience before her narration: “Only my mother knows the story.”
“I was in the Music Academy of Immaculate Conception Academy one afternoon and we were walking toward the piano because I was taking my piano lessons there and I saw a piece of paper on the floor. I didn't know what it was, but it was something, it was in white and blue, and I picked it up and it was some kind of a story told by this lady who was telling her readers about her school, Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, and I asked my mama, what is Philosophy and Letters?
“And she said something about thinking and writing. So I became curious about that and eventually I was, you know, I was 14 at the time. I started inquiring from UST and they told me in short, Philosophy and Letters was Journalism, which is what I had wanted to be.
“But when you're 14 and in those days we didn't have, you know, Facebook or internet. I just asked my auntie, who was director of St. Scholastica’s, if they offered a course in Journalism, and she said, ‘No, you have to go to UST for that.’
“And one thing led to another. I found out that UST was the only university offering Journalism. So I enrolled,” she shared.
Yap-Daza earned her Litt. B degree in Journalism from the now-defunct UST Faculty of Philosophy and Letters (Philets) in 1961.
At 18, she began her journalism career as columnist for the now-defunct Evening News. She then moved to the Daily Mirror and begand her popular column “Medium Rare,” the column she now maintains with Manila Bulletin.
A former Editor in Chief of Manila Standard and Lifestyle Asia, Yap-Daza also hosted the TV shows “Jullie” in ABS-CBN and “Tell the People” in RPN-9.
As a best-selling author, Daza included the publications “Manners for Moving Up,” “A Time to Love, a Time to Leave,” and “Etiquette for Mistresses,” which was adapted into a 2015 movie helmed by director Chito Roño. — Video by UST Artlets alumna Deni Bernardo; video editing by Anjilica Andaya
