An Australian newspaper portrayed Filipino women in Australia as 'mail-order brides'. Lolita called them out.

Canberran Lolita Villanueva has taken on many roles in her life — publisher, broadcaster, translator, interpreter and life coach. All of them have service at their core.

From publisher, broadcaster, translator, and interpreter to life coach: Lolita Villanueva, who has been living in Australia for four decades, aims to give back to the community. Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

Key Points

• On 26 January 1978, Lolita Villanueva Gibbon arrived in Hunter Valley, New South Wales from Lumban, Philippines.
• In the 1980s, she started Radyo Filipino in the ACT, a radio program aimed at connecting Filipinos and diverse communities.
• Lolita worked as a publisher, translator and aged care worker before discovering life coaching and made it a mission to touch lives one at a time.

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Dating publisher at broadcaster, isa nang life coach sa ACT; pagpili sa bagong karera itinuturing na biyaya

SBS Filipino

14/08/202417:13

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Of her 69 years, Lolita Villanueva Gibbon has lived four decades of it in Australia.

In those four decades, she's taken on multiple roles, including publisher, broadcaster, translator and life coach.

Life in regional Australia in the 70s

From Lumban, Laguna in the Philippines, Lolita arrived in Australia on Australia Day in 1978 to start a new life with her then-fiancé Robert Gibbon.

A 22-year-old Lolita, whose family owned a restaurant called Kamayan sa Nayon Pilipino in Manila, relocated to the city of Maitland in the Hunter Valley.

Lolita’s grade 5 class picture at Lumban Central School Batch ‘68 Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

Growing up in a densely populated and busy metropolis, her new laid-back small town took some getting used to.

“It was like a ghost town back then; so I was fortunate to have supportive in-laws who helped me settle,” Lolita shared.

“Because I couldn’t work until I got married to Robert, I helped my father-in-law with his meals on wheels while I bonded with my mother-in-law in the kitchen. I would cook Filipino dishes like Adobo.”

Lolita with Robert Gibbon and her parents-in-law in Maitland, NSW Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

To keep herself busy, she enrolled in a TAFE course related to printing and publishing, which was the bachelor’s degree she completed at the University of Sto Tomas (UST) in the Philippines.

Lolita was the first-ever female graduate of the program and her experience working at the UST printing office helped her land a job in a local private printing press in Newcastle.

A letter to the editor of Newcastle Morning Herald

Lolita recalled reading an article published on The Newcastle Morning Herald about mail-order brides and Filipino women in their locality.

She thought the tone of the piece was condescending and that it was a misrepresentation of the real experiences of Filipino women in Australia.

Appalled by the feature, she wrote a letter to the editor.

After a few days, her father-in-law received a phone call from the author of the previous piece, telling him that he wanted to publish the letter she wrote.

Lolita and Robert Gibbon at their farewell party in Sydney Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

As soon as it was published, Lolita started receiving calls from other Filipino women wanting to connect with her.

Invitations to picnics, dinners and barbies started coming her way from grateful strangers who soon became her friends.

In 1980, Lolita moved to Sydney when Robert got a six-month job in public service in the city.

After his stint in Sydney, the couple moved to Canberra when Robert got a promotion.

Launching Radyo Filipino in the ACT

In the ACT, Lolita noticed that 2XX — a broadcaster featuring ethnic programs — didn’t have a Filipino radio program.

Building it from the ground up, Lolita reached out to a fellow Filipino already doing Filipino radio in Adelaide.

“My husband and I, on our holidays to South Australia, met with Dante and he showed me the ropes on how to set up a Filipino program in Canberra,” Lolita recounted.

Lolita's efforts resulted in the first-ever broadcast of Filipino radio in Canberra. It took place at a studio in Drill Hall at the Australian National University, with Lolita at the helm.

Lolita with her friends in Canberra Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

Radyo Filipino was the first ethnic program in the capital broadcasted in both English and Filipino, reaching more audiences — particularly first-generation Filipino-Australians and Filipinos married to Australians.

“A lot of my listeners would approach me and say they tuned in, never changed the dial, and appreciated that the program was presented bilingually.”

Bridging the language barrier

While Lolita volunteered at Radyo Filipino, she also worked as a full-time public servant in the federal government.

She was initially asked to become a member of the first Filipino panel of three examiners.

Not long after becoming a member, she was offered the chairperson's position for the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI).

NAATI is the national standards certifying authority for interpreters and translators in Australia.

Lolita visiting Atok, Benguet in the Philippines Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

Although there was no certifying examination to accredit someone to become an official translator and interpreter at that time, Lolita was approached by several agencies because of her strong ties with the community.

“I translated materials about pension, unemployment benefits, and disability from English to Filipino.

"Some of the notable translation work I did were for Qantas for their in-flight announcements, SBS for news materials, and commercial translating and interpreting services."

Lolita and Robert while on vacation in Hawaii, USA Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

'Life coaching is my true calling'

Lolita lived briefly in the United States; but after four years, she found her way back to Australia.

It was that transition that stirred in her the need to look for work that would be more personal and, emotionally and spiritually enriching.

Initially, she worked in the aged care sector as a recreational activities officer, organising fun events for residents until she decided to retire in 2017.

However, she knew deep down that she wasn’t ready for the life of a pensioner, so she decided to enrol in a life coaching course offered in Melbourne.

“Getting into the program only made my coaching official, but before that, my family and friends were already coming to me for advice and counseling.”

Lolita with her family in the Philippines Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

When sharing important life lessons, Lolita talked of 'blind spots' and the importance of acknowledging weaknesses as a way to move forward.

“No one can change you, but yourself. The desire should come from within.”

Lolita admitted that while she was able to achieve many of her goals in life, life coaching filled an "emptiness in her heart".

“My natural gift is to listen to people without taking their issues on board as mine. Having wisdom — the knowledge, application and experience — is what I always use when I deal with my clients.”

Lolita living happily in Canberra at 69 Credit: Lolita Villanueva Gibbon

Lolita shared that those still in the process of discovering themselves can simplify the process by listing down all the things they enjoy, choosing two things from the list, and, actually doing them.

“We all have a role to play in society, regardless of how small or grand it is, we have to do it well, and should make us happy."