Gabby Eigenmann on the women in dad Mark Gil’s life

If there’s one important lesson the late Mark Gil taught his children, it’s treating one another not as half-siblings, but “full brothers and sisters.”

Mark, Raphael Joseph Eigenmann in real life,  left six children when he succumbed to liver cancer on September 1: Gabby, 36 and Ira, 35, with Irene Celebre whom he had a five-year relationship with; Sid (Timmy), 31 and Maxene, 26, with Bing Pimentel (his first wife); Andi, 23, with Jaclyn Jose (they lived in for more than five years) and Stephanie, 19, with Maricar Jacinto whom he married in 1993.

Same lesson for the moms

Gabby, the eldest,  said the same lesson goes for their respective mothers.

"Lahat naman sila e. Even si Tita Bing, Maricar… lahat ng ex ni Daddy walang kaso sa’min coz they never treated us differently,” he told Yahoo Philippines on Friday (September 26) at the pocket interview for his GMA afternoon series “Dading.”

"They have their own places in each and everyone’s [heart] sa pamilya namin. Hindi dapat magtaka kung bakit wala (inggitan). It’s respect."

In an interview with Philippine Star in 2004, the Kapuso actor related all of them are close to his siblings’ mothers.

"I treat them like my own mom, not like my stepmothers. We treat each other as family. Yeah. I call them all Tita, but not Maricar because it’s awkward because we’re almost the same age.”

Not a womanizer, no ‘anak sa labas'

Gabby clarified in the same interview that his dad “has never been a womanizer."

"He just loved one woman at a time. It just so happened that he loved many of them; one at a time.”

Mark, meanwhile, maintained a good relationship with his exes, and made sure he told his kids the truth.

"I never hide anything from them. One time, my daughter Stephanie, when she was five years old, asked me, 'How come I have so many brothers and sisters?' I told her, 'Well, that's how Daddy's life is. Daddy fell in love many times and so...' Then, she said, 'You kasi Daddy, e, you have so many women.’ I don’t believe that there’s such a person as anak sa labas. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have any anak sa labas; they are all my children, fruits of love. The only problem is that my relationship with their mothers didn’t work,” he said in an interview with columnist Ricky Lo.

Living up to dad’s legacy

Asked about the estate his father left, the “Dading” lead star explained his father’s inheritance is even more important than a piece of land. It's the legacy of great talent the Eigenmanns are known for.

"Ang naiwan lang talaga ni daddy sa’min is his legacy. We’re not into properties, ano kami… it is what it is. We’re okay with that.”

He continued, "Kahit babali-baligtarin naman natin ang ano, kapag tinanong mo kung anong legacy ang maiiwan ng pamilya namin, obvious is how we are sa trabaho namin.”

The pressure is on for the showbiz scions (four of them are into acting) to continue Mark’s legacy.

"Si Sid and I were talking [and realized], we will never top what dad had gone through. Hindi namin mararating kung ano man ang narating niya. We’re just here and we’ll try to do our best.”

It’s far-fetched, but Gabby said they have to live with it.

"Etong generation namin, eto’ng pinasa sa’min, inside and outside showbiz, dapat magre-reflect kung paano kami natuto at paano kami pinalaki ng daddy ko. ‘Yun lang ang pinaka-importante. But with whatever he achieved, malabo ‘yun… malabong maabot namin."