We’re not mere relatives, we’re soulmates
Three years ago, my wife Leni passed from this world. Since then, I have continued living more deliberately while drawing strength from my children and the people around me. Just when none of us anticipated it, the fragility of life struck again with the passing of our lovely balae, Linda Manuel Mañalac. She passed to the Eternal Kingdom on March 21, 2026. Two days from now, her 40th day in heaven will be celebrated.
TEARS FLOWED, YET THE MEMORIES OF HER GENEROSITY in the minds and hearts of those around her have begun to outweigh the grief. Listening to their eulogies, I realized that her generosity took many forms. To borrow the vivid language of her son Carlos “Pop” Mañalac, Linda “spent the last days of her life—as she always lived—with complete, absolute, unconditional love … because of her generosity … we, her children, are at peace—grief has been turned to gratitude, and pain into peace.”
To her grandchildren, nephews, and nieces, she was, per our common apo Andrea, unfailingly generous with both her affection and her time. Her nephew, Ayala Land’s top executive, Rico Manuel, shared, “We lost our Dad and Mom very early … but we were never truly alone. Ninang Linda was incredibly generous—not just with what she had, but even more with her time, her attention, and her sincere care.”
Even to those beyond her family, she is remembered for her unsolicited generosity, as tearfully affirmed by Sonya Garcia, who recalled: “Some 30 years ago, Lou Morales and I brought her to an undeveloped estate in Alfonso, Cavite. Without inspecting the property but looking only at my anxious eyes and salivating mouth, she pulled out her checkbook and paid the full price for penniless me. And presto, the now famous Sonya’s Garden was born and later boomed and bloomed…”
Linda hosted Christmas lunch for the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, reminisced Sister Cho Borromeo, “for over 30 years … 25 years in Pasay and five in Forbes Park … they were far more than simple meals; they were sanctuaries of memory that gave us strength during our most trying times.”
Addressing Linda, Sister Cho added, “Despite your wealthy background, you moved through the world with a profound heart for the poor … You were famously ‘stingy’ with yourself, yet you were incredibly lavish with your generosity towards others.”
Fr. Robert Manansala of the Santuario de San Antonio Parish exclaimed, “For Tita Linda, the greatest treasures of her heart were God, family, and other relatives, the Southeastern College community, her wide circles of friends, especially the poor and underprivileged … she taught us in many different ways—love, kindness, compassion, discipline, dedication, faith, that among others are now written in our hearts.”
I can go on and on quoting from relatives and friends, even from the vendors on the roads to Tagaytay, from whom Linda bought boiled corn and camote. The one message that kept resounding is that she is “Generosity Personified.”
I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF PERSONALLY WITNESSING her spontaneity, generosity, and magnanimity. During one of her birthday parties, an esteemed visitor she had met for the first time remarked on how lovely her pearl necklace was. Immediately, she gently removed the necklace and placed it around the neck of her stunned visitor, saying, “There, bagay na bagay sa iyo.”
Linda and Tong’s homes in Makati and Batangas were always open to their friends who dropped by for a day or for a week, complete with household staff and an abundance of delicacies stored in their cupboards and freezers. Fishermen, with freshly caught lobsters and crabs in the sea near their Punta Fuego home, would often wait for her, knowing she paid them more than their asking prices to help them provide for their cash-strapped families.
Though not too liturgical, she was definitely spiritual in putting to practice the Ignatian teaching of giving without counting the cost and of working without asking for reward, save that of knowing and following the Lord’s holy will. Indeed, she taught by deed and not by words, by example and not by trumpets—without fanfare and drumrolls.
TO PERPETUATE HER LEGACY OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, I think all of us, her friends and relatives, should strive to follow her quiet, unadulterated generosity and pure magnanimity. Let us seek to imitate her unfettered kindness—to paraphrase the Good Book—to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked, and to visit the prisoners. And in doing so, we keep her generous spirit alive, magnified through the lives we touch.
And to Tong Mañalac, and to all widows and widowers, may we always look back on the past with gratitude and quiet surrender. Tong, Linda, my Leni, and I were a Happy Foursome. We were not just friends. We were not just relatives. We were soulmates!
Together, we laughed, we dined, we danced, we traveled, we celebrated. Painful as it is to live now with only their memory, I am certain our spouses would want us to move forward—to carry on, to live life fully, as they did—until the day God calls us, in His time, to a joyful reunion with them, together with all His angels in His Heavenly Kingdom.
—————-
Comments to chiefjusticepanganiban@hotmail.com
