A full life: William Thio balances news, construction — and living with grandma who raised him

On most days, William Thio’s schedule defies logic. He rises at 6 a.m., heads to his construction office by eight a.m., anchors a news webcast at noon, then moves to the studio of PTV News Tonight for his evening anchor duties. He returns home well past 11 p.m., takes time to unwind, plays with his beloved dogs and hits the home gym — sometimes not sleeping until 2 a.m.

It is a rhythm he has kept since the pre-pandemic years, and at 51, Thio seems energized, not exhausted.

“Retirement? I want to die doing my newscast,” he says.

Thio, known to viewers across the country as one of the primetime faces of the People’s Television Network (PTV), is not just a broadcaster. He is also a construction entrepreneur, a dog show judge and a devoted grandson. His life is a carefully managed interplay of public presence and private devotion — anchored, quite literally, by a woman he calls the love of his life: his grandmother, Florence Yu.

Thio’s story is one of early turbulence transformed into adult discipline. Born to a Thai-Indonesian banker and a Filipina mother, he was very young when his parents separated.

“Growing up with 11 stepfathers can change the way you view love and relationships,” he admits.

He struggled in school, restless and often distracted, until he found a steady influence in his maternal grandmother.

Florence became more than a guardian — she was a model of self-sufficiency and grit. A real estate investor who bought, renovated and resold homes, she passed on to Thio an eye for design and a nose for business.

“Everything I know about being enterprising, about treating employees with respect and compassion — I got from her,” he says.

Yu also left him Regal Homes, a company focused on property renovation and restoration. While he expanded its reputation through word of mouth — eventually attracting high-end clients such as the Aivee Clinics and the law firm Chavez, Hechanova and Lim — Thio felt constrained by its legal mandate.

“Regal Homes is not allowed to do ground-up construction,” he explains. “It’s structured for renovations.”

So he started over.

Build Best Construction was born out of necessity and ambition. These new ventures allowed Thio to take on full-scale construction projects, including the Rejuvenate and Aesthetic Wellness Center in Biñan, Laguna; a five-story dog and cat hotel and grooming center in Poblacion, Makati; and an educational facility for the Transcend Program of Vanguard Academy.

He is currently working on a residential development in Quezon City and ongoing renovations at Solace Hotel in Makati. While Build Best is still in its infancy, it has already earned an A rating in the construction sector.

“No leaks, no complaints,” he says, half-joking, but clearly proud. He is aiming for that AAA rating. That is the real benchmark.

Despite his passion for construction — what he calls his “first love” — broadcasting remains his most visible role. A former anchor for the Philippine News Agency’s (PNA) digital desk, Thio now splits his time between PNA’s Tagalog webcast and PTV’s flagship nightly program.

He also hosts the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) live lottery draws on weekends. The audition process for the PCSO gig, he recalls, was charmingly straightforward: “They just asked me to count from one to 31 — the numbers in the lotto.”

As if anchoring and construction were not enough, Thio is also an international dog show judge affiliated with the Philippine Canine Club, Inc. He owns a Bichon Frise, currently rated the top female dog in the country, and a sprightly Pomeranian, both of whom serve as his constant companions at home.

Thio simply says that he lives a very full life and that may not be conventional, but it works for him.

His devotion to his grandmother remains the emotional center of that life. He takes her out on his free time, ensuring she stays socially and physically active.

“She’s my inspiration,” he says. “She’s the one and only love in this lifetime, and the next, and the one before that.”

Thio is coy about being described as a “sigma male” — an increasingly popular term for men who are attractive (he was once a model), independent, high-achieving and unbound by traditional social hierarchies.

“It just means I’m okay being on my own terms,” he explains.

Even as he juggles careers in two demanding industries, Thio insists his mood rarely falters. “I’m never off,” he says. Thio attributes it to his personality and that he is built for motion, for movement.

Whether it is managing construction permits, editing scripts minutes before airtime or timing a live lotto draw to the second, Thio thrives on structure — even if that structure spans four jobs, several dogs and 18-hour days.

He does not romanticize his past, nor does he see his life as a cautionary tale. If anything, he views it as a blueprint.

“I started remodeling houses, then I ended up in newscasts,” he says with a shrug.

One never really knows where the foundations they lay will take them. For William, the answer may be: Everywhere.