The First Wife and Our Family Tree

Dear insansapinas,

This blog is acshually about a story of families; mine and that of the first wife of Iggy Arroyo, Marilene Jacinto. Not so long ago, there was a squabble between the second wife, Aleli Arroyo and the mistress who denied she is a mistress, Grace Ibuna over the body and the estate of the deceased Congressman. So people asked, where is the first wife? 


The First Wife


These excerpts from Babe Romualdez 's article could provide the answer to the question of those who are interested to know who she is.

The Quezon City Prosecutor’s office has indicted Marilene Jacinto, first wife of the late Negros Occidental Congressman Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, for falsification of public documents. The indictment stemmed from a complaint by Marilene’s brother – Ramon “RJ” Jacinto – president of the family-owned Oregon Land Inc., alleging that Marilene faked a Deed of Absolute Sale and presented the same to the Quezon City Register of Deeds to have the ownership of the P300-million Novaliches property transferred to her name.

The indictment is only the latest in the long-running Jacinto family saga marked by infighting among siblings over their inheritance. The late family patriarch Don Fernando Jacinto is the acknowledged founder of the steel industry. Don Fernando’s father, Nicanor Sr., is also one of the founders of the Bank of Commerce and Security Bank, and together with the steel mill in Iligan City plus vast land holdings, the family wealth expanded to great heights. The Jacinto children lived the kind of opulence and extravagance that most other people could only dream about. At a young age, they were living in the lap of luxury, driving around in the flashiest cars and mingling with the scions of society’s most elite. As a matter of fact, RJ would be seen driving around the Ateneo campus in a red and white Thunderbird – at a time when the T-Bird was just being introduced locally – while another brother went around in a Jaguar.

The rift among the siblings escalated with Marilene accused of squandering the family finances and running away with the others’ share – already little as it is – from the sale of the property. Court records of email exchanges (between 2007 and 2008) among the siblings revealed the acrimony and frustration especially among the other sisters who felt betrayed by Marilene. Two of the Jacinto sisters, Lilibeth and Nannette, passed away in 2009 and 2010 due to cancer while Pocholo died a year later. Sources close to the family allege that the death of RJ’s three younger siblings must have been caused by the stress and unhappiness over the infighting.

Our Family Tree 



The properties of the family of my father were not even enough to buy a Jaguar just like the Jacintos but the story was similar...one  member allegedly taking over the properties; enjoying the financial benefits while leaving the siblings empty-handed. That's all the similarity in our families with that of Jacinto. 

My mother got a share of inheritance, a coconut farm. She was luckier because at that time she just had one living relative, her older sister who had gotten  her share even before my grandparents died. She was one of the two children of my grandmother to her second husband, my grandpa. She had fourteen more to her first husband. But before  her first set of chidren grew to maturity, they died due to poor nourishment. Not because, they were included in the NSO statistics nor in the SWS survey claiming that they're poor and could not feed the children...in fact, she had adopted orphaned nieces which made them consume pork equivalent to one big pig including the entrails, the tail,the ears and the blood every month. Kulang na lang maglitson sila buwan-buwan.  She had maintained  the hog, fish  and the poultry farms just for food supply. But the children, as I had narrated in my previous story were given simple porridge (just salt for taste) which when accounted for would add up to less than half the sack in their lifetimes.  No, my grandma was not responsible for this nutritional care. Perhaps she was guilty of being an absentee mother.  My grandma was a businesswoman so she was not aware of what's happening. 

 It was her adopted nieces who were made to believe by their own poor families that children should not be eating meat and fish. Just porridge. Kaya nga galaw lugaw sila. The story was meant to discourage them from demanding so much food.  My mother survived because she woud sneak in the kitchen when the "bodyguards" were taking their naps.


Father's Family


MY father was the youngest among the eight children. They had vast tract of coconut farms. His siblings did not bother to go to school because they were well provided from the produce of the farms. . Their daily preoccupations were food that they got from the fish  and rice farms and  mahjong which they played until someone had to shout fire for them to leave the mahjong table. 


But the husband of  the eldest aunt was wily. He prepared a deed of sale, asked the in-laws to sign at the promise that they get paid when they got the loan proceeds from the bank. That's what he made them believe. My father who can read, write and understand documents did not sign. 


He packed his things and moved to Camarines Norte where he found a job in a multinational company.My father made us promise never go back to live in Bicol.


Until his death, he did not talk to his siblings but he welcomed his nephews who came to our house. They lost also the properties. 


Itutuloy.


Pinaysaamerika