Maximo Villaflor Soliven

MAXIMO VILLAFLOR SOLIVEN [ SEPTEMBER 4,
1929 – NOVEMBER 24, 2006 ] was a Filipino journalist

and news paper publisher. In a career spanning decades, he
founded the PHILIPPINE STAR and served as its publisher
until his death.
BORN MAXIMO VILLAFOR SOLIVEN
SEPTEMBER 4, 1929
ERMITA, MANILA, INSULAR
GOVERNMENT OF THE
PHILIPPINE
ISLANDS
DIED NOVEMBER 24, 2006 [ AGED 77 ]
NARITA INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT NARITA,
CHIBA, JAPAN.
RESTING PLACE LIBINGAN NG MGA BAYANI,

TAGUIG
MONUMENTS SOLIVEN MONUMENT AT ROXAS
BOULEVARD BAYWALK
NATIONALITY FILIPINO
OTHER NAMES MAX SOLIVEN
ALMA MATER ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY
[ BA ] FORDHAM UNIVERSITY
[ MA ]
OCCUPATION [S] JOURNALIST, NEWSPAPER,

PUBLISHER
ACTIVIST, TELEVISION HOST
PHILANTHROPIST
KNOWN FOR CO-FOUNDER OF THE
PHILIPPINE STAR
NOTABLE WORK AVE TRIUMPHATOR, BY THE WAY
SPOUSE PRECIOSA SILVERIO SOLIVEN
CHILDREN 3
BACKGROUND
SOLIVEN was born on SEPTEMBER 4, 1929, at the PHILIPPINE GENERAL HOSPITAL in MANILA,
PHILPPINES. His father BENITO, who died from aftereffects of the BATAAN DEATH MARCH and
imprisonment in CAPAS, TARLAC DURING the WORLD WAR 2, was elected to serve in the pre-war
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. SOLIVEN spent his undergraduate years at the ATENEO DE MANILA
UNIVERSITY, where he received t6he OZANAM of ARTS from FORDHAM UNIVERSITY and JOHNS
HOPKINS UNIVERSITY’S SCHOOL of advanced and international studies.
SOLIVEN was proficient in Spanish, as it was one of the languages used by his Ilocano grandparents. MAX
was the eldest ten children. His brothers and sisters were Guillermo, Regulo, Manuel, Mercedes, Teresa, Agusta,
Victorio, Ethelinda, Benito.
His youngest sister, ETHEL SOLIVEN TIMBOL, is also a journalist. She was a writer and lifestyle editor of the
MANILA BULLETIN from 1964, retiring in 2007.
EARKY LIFE
MAX, was asthmatic as achild, inspiring an early nickname from his siblings as the guy who never sleeps, but
talks at night. At the aged of seven, MAX was reciting poems and delivering speeches as he imitated his father.
He wrote poetry at the age of thirteen and continued until he was TWENTY-ONE.
When his father died at the age of 44, Max helped his Mother, who was 30 years old the time, support th3e
family. At the age of 12, Max served as the role model assumed the role of father figure to his younger siblings.
He worked for the jesults as a messenger and errand boy using a second-hand bicycle he had saved up for. He
also sold cigarettes and shined shoes in helping his mother support his nine siblings. While working these odd
jobs, Max won academic medals as a scholar at the ateneo de manila University.
MARRIAGE
While studying in NEW YORK CITY for university, Max got engaged ton an American woman. One week
before the wedding, the woman asked Max to consider her wish to live in the US. Max said, No ifs or buts; my
life is in the Philippines. I must serve my own country and that is where I need to be. When she did not agree to
the decision, Max cancelled the wedding.
When he was 28, Max married Preciosa Silverio, Who he had met when she was 16 years old. Preciosa’s mother
was daughter of manila Police Captain Manuel Quiogue. She was 19 when Max Proposed to her. They married
in 1957 at the St. Anthony’s church in Singalong, Manila. Throughout their marriage, Max called Precious
Silver, a play on her name. in 1996, Preciosa founded the operation brotherhood Montessori center.
EDUCATION
Soliven spoke English as a First language, like most children of the pre-war Filipino middle class. He also spoke
latin, Spanish and Ilocano.
Max received all his schooling, from elementary to college, in the Ateneo. He also went on to receive a master’s
degree from FORDHAM, a JESUIT school in New York City.
While Ateneo was closed for rebuilding after the war, Max was sent to Japanese vocational School in Escolta
where he learned Japanese, Typing, and stenography. He was then sent to Paco Parochial School. In June 1945,
classes in Ateneo were resumed for third and fourth year high school students only in plaza guipit. Max was
accepted in third year and became part of Ateneo’s Guild 47 or High School Class 1947. His classmates
included Cesar Concio, Ramon Pedrosa, Luis Lorenzo, Jose Tuazon, Araneta, Ramon Hontiveros, Florentino
Gonzales, Hector Quesada, and Recardo Lopa.
DEATH
After garnering many accolades in the Philippines journalism, Soliven died at age 77 in Tokyo, Japan on
November 24, 2006. He suffered a fatal acute and pulmonary cardiac arrest at the Narita Airport. He was
pronounced dead at 11;26AM [TOKYO TIME] 24 November 2006, at the Narita Red Cross Hospital. The
confirmation was brought about by consul Gina Jamoralin of the Philippines embassy in Japan. He died doing
what he loved; being a journalist. He wrote his last article hours before his death regarding the rise of a more
assertive prime minister, SHINZO ABE. Bookie Soliven, son of second eldest brother, willie may have been the
last person Max texted before he died. Max replied to bookie’s invitation to watch a WAARNER BROTHERS
movie premiere replying, Thank you for your invite. I will be back from Tokyo on the 27th . love, Uncle Max.
After his death as confirmed, various companies reacted. CNN announced his passing worldwide. Various
newspaper companies mourned the death of one of the greatest journalist of the time. The inquirer referred to
him as its founding publisher in the article announcing hi death. The Philippine flag at O.B MONTESSORI
CENTER, the school founded by his wife Preciosa, was on half-mast. His remains were cerameted in Tokyo,
Japan, and were brought home to manila by his wife Preciosa on November 28 [ the Philippine star, Nov. 29 ],
with full military honors [ in recognition of his military service during world war 2 ]. He was buried in
Libingan ng mga Bayani on January 10, 2007. Soliven was posthumously awarded the order of Lakandula
[ rank of grand officer ] by president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She also hailed Max Soliven as an Icon of
freedom saying that free press wouldn’t have been the way it was without his.

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MAXIMO VILLAFLOR SOLIVEN [ SEPTEMBER 4,

1929 – NOVEMBER 24, 2006 ] was a Filipino journalist

BORN MAXIMO VILLAFOR SOLIVEN

ERMITA, MANILA, INSULAR

DIED NOVEMBER 24, 2006 [ AGED 77 ]

RESTING PLACE LIBINGAN NG MGA BAYANI,

MONUMENTS SOLIVEN MONUMENT AT ROXAS

OTHER NAMES MAX SOLIVEN

ALMA MATER ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY

OCCUPATION [S] JOURNALIST, NEWSPAPER,

ACTIVIST, TELEVISION HOST

KNOWN FOR CO-FOUNDER OF THE

SPOUSE PRECIOSA SILVERIO SOLIVEN

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