A pocketful of chocolates

MANILA, Philippines — 'To me he is simply Manny — the brother who continues to love and take care of his family today is the same brother who would come home from school with a pocketful of candies and chocolates for me, his little sister.'

When Tess Pangilinan-delos Reyes was diagnosed with breast cancer, her older brother immediately wanted her to receive treatment in Texas.

She chose to remain in Manila, where her family was.

He never questioned her decision.

Instead, he quietly made sure she had the best doctors, the best treatment available, and never stopped checking on her.

"He always somehow finds a way to be present, not only through words, but through his actions, support, concern and love," Tess says. "No matter how full his schedule is, he will make sure to be on top of things when it comes to our family."

For the rest of the world, he may be Manny V. Pangilinan: chairman, business leader, and mentor.

To Tess, he has always been something much simpler.

Her kuya.

Long before the boardrooms, the business empire and the accolades, there was a little boy who came home from school carrying small surprises for his younger sister.

"Manny was always a thoughtful brother," she recalls. "He would often come home with pasalubong for me, like candies or chocolates. It may seem like a small gesture, but it is a memory I always hold onto because that's who he is: someone who always thinks of others."

More than seven decades later, she says, nothing has really changed.

"He still continues to be thoughtful, especially when planning family events or travels. After all these years, he still always makes sure the family is comfortable and taken care of."

Growing up in Little Baguio, the Pangilinan siblings were raised by parents who believed in discipline, humility and responsibility.

"Our parents were both very strict," Tess says. "Back then, we didn't appreciate their strictness, but it shaped who we are today."

Among the three siblings, Manny was always the serious one.

"He would come home, have merienda, and immediately do his homework. He would only play after everything was finished."

Looking back, Tess believes those small daily habits became the foundation of the discipline people now associate with the business leader.

"He was never one to skip his responsibilities."

Yet behind that discipline was a quiet courage she first witnessed as a child.

One afternoon, while their parents were away, a bat suddenly flew into the living room.

"My older brother Chiqui and I panicked," she recalls with a laugh. "We were running around trying to hide."

Manny simply stood up and shooed the bat away.

"He was not scared. Or maybe if he was, he didn't show it. He always had a quiet kind of courage."

Family, Tess says, has always remained at the center of her brother's life.

One of his security personnel once quietly told her, "Ibang-iba po si Boss pag kayo ang kasama. Dito siya pinaka-relaxed at masaya."

The remark touched her deeply.

Because when Manny is with family, the chairman disappears.

"He becomes a brother, an uncle, a lolo and a great-grandlolo," she says. "It's nice to see his playful and affectionate side when he is with us."

She laughs as she recalls his sharp sense of humor and the countless childhood stories they still retell until everyone is "crying from so much laughter."

She speaks of his love for badminton, his faithful attendance at Sunday family lunches whenever time permits, and his deep Marian devotion: a faith nurtured by their mother that remains part of his daily life through prayer and the Memorare.

As she watched him recover from knee replacement surgery, enduring every painful step with determination, Tess found herself proud once again, not because of what he had accomplished, but because of who he had always been.

"He reminded us that pain is temporary," she says, "and that every painful step was one step closer to healing."

As Manny V. Pangilinan celebrates his 80th birthday, Tess hopes people will see beyond the résumé.

"Behind all the things he has achieved is a man who loves deeply," she says. "He loves his family deeply, and he loves this country deeply."

To the public, he may always be known as MVP.

But to his little sister, he will forever be the older brother who walked through the front door carrying a pocketful of candies and chocolates.