Mi Familia

Who?

"Do you have everything with you?" Ferdinand Alexander Marcos III or Sandro asked his two brothers after they got their belongings and handed them to their body guards. Twelve guards escorted them out of the airport to their SUV.

Napakahirap bigyan ng siguridad ang tatlong magkakapatid dahil sa estado ng kanilang ama sa bansa. Dagdagan pa ng mga humahangang 'fangirls' sa kanila, lalo na ang panganay kaya ito nagpasya na umuwi ng isang araw na maaga upang makaiwas sa kaguluhan.

The Vice President's eldest's popularity skyrocketed during the campaign period when he went home and helped his father. Many girls and even guys noticed his looks, great communication skills and intelligence which dubbed him as the guy with "beauty and brains". He wasn't used to it and he didn't want to get it in his head. Being known because of this surname was normal for him but being popular because of his charisma and looks was something he didn't asked for.

"I never thought your fan base is this huge," Simon, the second son teased his kuya in which Sandro returned with a scoff and said; "You want them? I can share you know." Simon shook his head, "No thanks, you can have them all."

Nakita ng dalawa kung paano unti-unting nakuha ni Sandro ang loob ng mga tao na karamihan ay mga kabataan. Nagsimula ito nang umuwi ang binata upang tumulong sa kampanya ng kanyang ama sa pagka-vise presidente.

Tinawag siyang 'Breath of Fresh Air' ng media sa gitna ng magulong eleksiyon. Marami ang humanga at marami din naman ang humusga.

Ngayon, sa tuwing bubuksan ni Sandro ang kanyang mga social media accounts ay puno ito ng mga notifications na hindi na nyang nakakayang buksan lahat sa dami. BIgla rin ang pagtaas ng bilang ng kanyang followers sa twitter at sa kanyang Instagram.

"Sir, sa VIP gate po tayo dadaan," the head security of the Vice president, Manolo, informed them. "Medyo magulo napo kasi sa harapan at may media napo na nando-doon."

"What, are they waiting for Jusandro Beibercos to arrive?" The youngest, Vinny tried to joke but failed miserably when his brothers and the security just looked at him like he said the most stupid thing on Earth.

"Bad joke Vinny, bad joke," Sandro said. He got his laptop bag and walked to the VIP gate, leaving the laughing Simon and the questioning-his-existence Vinny.

Too bad all those fangirls won't be seeing any Sandro Marcos that day or the following. All of them will just be blaming their organizers for getting the date and airport wrong.

"Hello car, I'm Vinny and we'll be together for 8-12 hours because my Kuya Sandro refused to take the private jet." Vinny sighed, still trying to convince his brother to take the jet to save them the time but to no avail.

Wala naming ito problema kay Simon dahil ang ibig sabihin lang ng kanilang mahabang biyahe ay mahabang oras ng tulog para sa kanya.

"Get inside Vinny, we don't want to waste any time. It won't be right if we use that jet when we can have the car and traffic has improved a lot so you won't be waiting that long."

Tinignan naman ni Manolo, ang kanilang Head Security, ang tatlong magkakapatid. Humanga sya lalo na sa panganay sa autoridad nito sa mga kapatid.

Sandro was truly a Marcos, he was responsible and knows how make his brothers and other people to follow him without questioning why, his dominant personality and authority was something you can't question. That's why his father took pride and trusted him enough to handle things harder for his age, and Sandro, being the competitive one that he never once failed his father. He knew that being the eldest, he was expected to do more and act mature in front of his family and the nation to protect his once tarnished family name.

******

Agad niyakap ni Lisa ang tatlong magkakapatid na matagal din niyang hindi nakita. Sa London nag-aaral ang tatlo kaya tuwing bakasyon at Pasko lamang kung umuwi. Binati at niyakap din ng Vise Presidente ang kanyang mga anak. Kahit ito na ngayon ang pangalawang may pinakamataas na position sa Pilipinas ay hindi parin nawawala ang kayang pagiging ama.

After having the kumustahan they went to the dining hall to have their dinner. And the brothers' mouths watered when they saw the food in front of them. One perks of being the vice presidents' family was to have the best Ilocano chef. They would still choose their mother's cooking but they were so hungry that they just went straight to the table and ate to their heart's content.

"Your father will be the guest speaker for the graduation at a university in Pampanga tomorrow. The whole family will be there, I know you are still tired and all but I would appreciate it if you will come with us," Sabi ni Lisa, inaasan na makukumbinsi ang mga anak na sumama at suportahan ang kanilang ama sa kabila ng pagod ng mga ito.

"Honey, wag nating pilitin ang mga bata. Pagod sigurado ito sa byahe at gusto nilang matulog maghapon. Magtatagal naman sila ditto kaya matagal tayong magkakasama." Hinwakan ni Bongbong ang kamay ng asawa. Tumango si Lisa pero nawala ang kislap sa kanyang mga mata.

The boys, especially Sandro noticed this and not wanting their mother sad agreed and said that it won't be a problem since they got some sleep in the car. Simon and Vinny smiled and assured their mom that it was okay and there was nothing to worry about.

When Liza said the whole family will be there, Sandro didn't expect that the whole Marcos clan will be there. His Tita Irene and her two sons were there and Tita Imee were also with her three sons. What was so special about that graduation that the whole family was there including the Marcos Matriarch, Imelda Marcos.

They decided to ride with their Tita Imee's sons and the car was filed with jokes and laughter until Sandro asked a question.

"Is there something we need to know about this graduation? What is so special about it that we all need to be there?" Sandro voiced out his mind. It was also bugging Simon and Vinny but they chose to remain quiet about it.

Borgy Manotoc was obligated to answer him because he was the oldest and his two brothers looked outside the window like they found the most interesting thing ever just to dock the question. Borgy knew that it wasn't his role to answer Sandro's question so he just answered Bongbong's eldest with, "We're going to meet Mama Meldy's only granddaughter."

And the once noisy car went into total silence.