Being called "Tony",[1] Cabangon–Chua, born in 1934, was the only child of a Chinese lumber dealer, Tomas Chua, and a Filipino, Dominga Lim Cabangon (1910–1962).
[3] The family once lived a middle class life at Leveriza Street, Malate, Manila,[1] until their house was destroyed during the Second World War.
[2] At age eleven, he helped his mother, working then as a washerwoman, through doing odd jobs,[1] among them being a shoeshiner in Mandaluyong—his hometown,[3] mainly for the American soldiers at the time of the liberation of the Philippines,[4] and selling magazines[1] and pandesal.
He gave up his dream of becoming a doctor as he pursued and finished a business administration degree a year shorter than the usual duration.
[7] He was also the chairman and president of the Catholic Mass Media Awards Foundation, appointed by former Manila archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin from 2000 until his death.
[2] His biography was written by Joaquin, who worked as a Philippine Graphic editor, entitled A Saga of Success,[3] and was published by Brown Madonna Press in 1986.
[1] A sequel, No Dream Too Tall, was made by another Graphic editor and writer Jose Lacaba, and Eric Caruncho.