BAND OF BROTHERS

Many people open their mouths in disbelief every time I tell them that we are 11  brothers in the family.

Yes, we are 11. The reason why the family grew that big was because of the desire of my late father, Bernardo, and our nanay, Efigenia, to have a baby girl.

Well, the baby girl did not come and finally after No. 11, they decided to give up.

Two of us, however, have feminine nicknames. I am Bebing while brother No. 10, Nilo, carries the nickname Nene.

Here are the brothers by order of birth:

1. Patricio, a retired police colonel and businessman
2. Emmanuel, former Governor
3. Efren, incumbent Mayor of Magpet
4. Bernardo, Jr., former congressman
5. Celso, a captain of an international vessel
6. Joselito, incumbent Mayor of Mlang
7. Noli, owner of a security agency
8. Gerry, businessman and councilor of Mlang
9. Ferdinand, disaster and crisis management officer, Mlang
10. Nilo, a British citizen who lives and works in London
11. Socrates, barangay chairman and businessman

I am proud to say that while we may all be boys, none of us was ever into drugs, none of us smokes and only three among us take alcoholic drinks.

While I used to smoke and drink, I quit smoking 14 years ago and stopped drinking 7 years ago.

Here is a very rare photo of all of us together taken during our last reunion Nov. 1.

Source: Manny Piñol