Monchet Olives: The fabulous life and legacy of a TV visionary
His sharp Spanish mestizo features made him look intimidating, and he reeked of old-world charm in how he spoke and moved.
Fabulous. That’s how friends remember Monchet Olives.
The former ABS-CBN executive fell to his death from the Joya Lofts North Tower in Rockwell on 29 September. He was 62.
Born Jose Ramon Diokno Olives, he lived a life of privilege from birth. He grew up in the old-money side of San Juan — back when it was still Rizal and not yet Metro Manila. The family residence stood on a corner lot along the winding stretch of P. Guevara Street, an area dotted with huge mansions. Among them was the home of Antonio Quirino, brother of former President Elpidio Quirino
Antonio was the founder of ABS, short for Alto Broadcasting System. (Alto was a combination of the Quirino couple’s first names, Aleli and Antonio; CBN was attached only after he sold the network to the Lopez family.).
Like the Quirino property, the Olives home sat on sloping terrain. This made its multi-level architecture fascinating, though it often proved complicated for first-time visitors attending the family’s frequent parties.
Monchet studied at De La Salle Greenhills from elementary through high school, often wearing expensive Lacoste shirts on days students were not required to wear uniforms. Though he didn’t sing with Kundirana, La Salle’s resident musical group, he unofficially managed it. Members called him their “hermano mayor” (big brother), as he oversaw an elite organization that produced local music icons like Randy Santiago, Ogie Alcasid, Gian Magdangal and Gary Valenciano. The group was often feted at the Olives home, where the food was always described as, well, fabulous.
He earned a mass communication degree from the University of the Philippines, graduating magna cum laude in 1987. In 2018, he received UP’s Glory Award — named after Gloria Feliciano, founding dean of the College of Mass Communication — an honor given to outstanding alumni. He received the award primarily for his work at ABS-CBN, where he spent nearly his entire professional life.
An elegant presence at ABS-CBN
Joining the newly reopened ABS-CBN right out of college, it was immediately clear Monchet belonged in the executive offices. In 1987, Channel 2 still shared a building with PTV-4, and the network felt like a cottage industry. But with Olives there, class and sophistication filled the air.
His sharp Spanish mestizo features made him look intimidating, and he reeked of old-world charm in how he spoke and moved. Everything about him dripped with elegance. Though he appeared snooty, he was actually very friendly and often the first to strike up a conversation. Still, rank-and-file employees largely kept their distance, viewing him as part of an aristocratic class from a different world.
It didn’t help that when ABS-CBN moved to the Eugenio Lopez Jr. building — better known as the ELJ Center — Monchet reportedly had his office refurbished to the tune of P4 million. This was early in the millennium, when that amount could buy a spacious three-bedroom condominium in a prime location. Most top executives had their own butlers, but Monchet’s butler looked the most impeccable in his starched uniform.
To make him seem more approachable to employees who came to work in jeans, Gina Lopez asked him to join the ABS-CBN Foundation. He tagged along on outreach programs and mingled with calamity victims.
One story — perhaps an urban legend — claimed Monchet joined foundation staff to distribute relief goods after a typhoon. He showed genuine compassion, but he still had his butler tailing him. He supposedly even had a table set up for his gourmet meals, complete with a bottle of champagne. They might be tall tales, but some friends believe they were entirely possible.
Taking Filipino culture global
What was undoubtedly true, however, was his contribution to expanding ABS-CBN’s global presence for overseas Filipinos. He was instrumental in the success of The Filipino Channel (TFC). His fabulous personality was put to good use as TFC established itself in Filipino communities worldwide, impressing foreign counterparts with his sophisticated manners.
While many saw TFC merely as part of ABS-CBN’s business plan, it had a profound cultural impact. Take the United States, for example: Many Filipino migrants brought their elderly parents over, who often ended up babysitting their Filipino American grandchildren. In the morning, the kids might watch Dora the Explorer. By noontime, the grandparents took over the TV for Tagalog soap operas on TFC. Exposed to these shows, curious children naturally began learning the language.
There are even cases today where white American children speak Tagalog because they watched Filipino TV shows with their nannies. More importantly, Filipino American children learned their heritage through TFC — an achievement Monchet helped make possible.
He also helped overseas Filipino workers adjust faster to foreign environments. Watching It’s Showtime and TV Patrol made it feel as though they had never left. While most OFWs now rely on YouTube and social media for news, for decades, TFC was their primary cure for homesickness. They have Monchet, in part, to thank for that.
A lasting legacy
Monchet retired from ABS-CBN more than a decade ago. He focused his energies on making fans, a business he inherited from his mother, who had run a fan factory in their San Juan home while he was growing up. He spent his final years devoted to the business and his wife, Margie Manzano.
His death on 29 September came as a jolt. As for why it happened, those close to him choose not to discuss it. It is the most decent thing they can do for a man who had been decent all his life. Decent and fabulous — not necessarily in that order.