Twenty Four Years Ago
By Manny Pinol
Nephew Clint “Spy” Defensor-Tajanlangit, son of cousin Bong, gave me a pleasant surprise late yesterday when he posted a picture of the family of Bernardo Magbanua Pinol taken about 24 years.
I could not determine the exact date but I would assume that this was taken in August of 1989 because we always had our family gathering for my father’s birthday and the Holy Week.
What makes me certain that this was taken in 1989 is the fact that my wife, Emily, is shown heavy with our second child, Josa Bernadette who was born Sept. 22, 1989.
Looking at the picture, I remembered what we were and what we became two decades later.
My father, a retired school teacher, was a board member when this picture was taken. He ran for Mayor of M’lang in 1995 but was pulled out of the race because of illness.
He died of brain tumor on Aug. 3, 1995 when I became the new mayor of M’lang having taken taken over the candidacy of Tatay.
My mother, Efigenia, had just retired as a public school teacher and was in the pink of health. Today, she is bed-ridden, unable to recognize even her own children, because of Dementia.
Brother Pat was a police officer at the time the picture was taken. He rose to become a lieutenant colonel before he lost his wife, Dr. Josephine Casalan, and their two children, Jarah and Andre, in the tragic Air Philippines plane crash on August 19, 2000 in Samal Island.
Pat recovered from the tragedy and is now a successful businessman and president of the North Cotabato Palm Oil Corp., the biggest nursery of Oil Palm in the province.
I am Brother No. 2 and I was senior copy editor of Tempo newspaper in 1989. I left Tempo in 1992 to become a close-in writer to presidential candidate Fidel V. Ramos who won the presidency.
When this picture was taken, I and my wife, Emily, only had one daughter, Maria Krista, now a doctor and is the chubby girl in the first row.
In 1995, I became mayor of M’lang, then Governor of North Cotabato from 1998 to 2007.
Brother No. 3 Efren was a radio announcer in 1989, married a fellow radio announcer Mae Leoncito, became my provincial administrator when I became Governor and later became Mayor of Magpet for 9 years.
Efren is now vice mayor of Magpet.
Brother No. 4 Bernardo Jr. was Tempo correspondent at this time and married teacher Josephine Leonardo. Three of their four children, Omar, Adnan and Bernice, now a law student, are in the picture.
Jun was the first to marry among all of us and now has four children with the additionl of another girl, Amenah.
He was my first provincial administrator and then won as councilor of Kidapawan City.
In 2007, Jun won as Congressman of the 2nd District of North Cotabato, a position which he kept for 3 years.
Brother No. 5 Celso was a seaman in 1989 and rose to become a Captain of an ocean-going vessel today, married his wife Mclyn who bore him three boys and a girl.
Brother No. 6 Joselito was our father’s right hand man in the provincial board at this time. He later became councilor of M’lang but gave way when I ran for Mayor in 1995.
He would become my municipal administrator then was elected vice mayor and is now on his last term as Mayor of our hometown.
Brother No. 7 Noli was a student at this time. He later trained dogs for security agencies in Manila and is now the owner of a security agency providing guards to big business firms in Mindanao.
Brother No. 8 Gerardo was also a student when this picture was taken. He became the chairman of barangay Nueva Vida and is now a municipal councilor of M’lang.
Brother No. 9 Ferdinand, also a student, is the certified crooner of the family. We all could carry a tune actually but Ferdinand is the best singer among us.
Ferdinand now works in the disaster preparedness program of the Municipality of M’lang and is married to a public school teacher.
Brother No. 10 Nilo was also a student at this time. He now works in England with his wife and has acquired British citizenship along with all the members of his family including three children.
Brother No. 11 Socrates is the certified Tatay’s pet. It was also during the days he and the other brothers were in college when the 10-hectare rubber farm was producing sufficiently to provide them with what they needed in school.
This was something that we, who planted the rubber trees when we were younger, were not able to enjoy.
Socrates also became barangay chairman of Nueva Vida and was later elected President of the League of Barangays which made him an ex-officio member of the Provincial Board.
He is now on his last term as barangay chairman and is returning to private business.
We all tried wild things when we were younger but today, not one of us smoke cigarettes and only two or three of the 11 take of alcoholic drinks.
I had fun looking at the photo, especially with all the lush hair and the mustache. Even Mayor Lito wore a mustache when he was younger.
Last year, all of us 11 posed for another rare picture. This time, Tatay was no longer around while Nanay could not join us as she is bedridden.
Hopefully, we will have another picture together before one by one we will yield to Father Time and meet our Maker.
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