A Life Filled with Laughter

Fernando “Andy” Tinio, Jr. was an engineer by profession, but he could have been a professional pianist instead as he could play any piece by ear. Or, he could have been a comedian because he was always cracking jokes.

Having grown up in Manila, Tagalog was his native language. But he ended up falling for and marrying a lass from Iloilo. Because of that, there was a wealth of puns for him to make about the differences between their native languages. Cockroaches were stupid (tanga) and doves were sharks (pating). So, when some of his wife’s relatives invited them to “pungko anay” (sit down for a bit), he jokingly quipped—“Wala namang anay dito!” (There are no termites here!) That earned him the nickname “Pungko Anay” and it stuck for more than 50 years.

Andy and his wife Sylvia were in Iloilo when the pandemic hit. What was supposed to be a visit for a few months turned into an indefinite stay. They couple was supposed to fly home to Chicago in 2020 for Andy’s scheduled heart operation, but airlines were grounded. On January 5, 2021, less than a month shy of his 83rd birthday, Pungko Anay passed away peacefully in his sleep.

Tito Andy (Uncle Andy) celebrating his 80th birthday with family before the Covid pandemic.

Commemorating the Funny Man

Some of his relatives later donated a pedicab in his memory. Instead of naming it “Tito Andy” (Uncle Andy), they decided to keep the joke running and named it “Pungko Anay”. The gift of love went to a deserving young man who used it to make a living ferrying passengers around his barangay. However, he soon found a steady job that paid well and decided to give up being a pedicab driver. He did not want the pedicab to go to waste so he passed it on to his mother who makes good use of it.

Spotted Out and About

In mid-2023, while the NVC Team was on a community visit, NVC President Millie Kilayko spotted the pedicab’s new owner pedaling Pungko Anay around. She snapped a photo for the family and updated them on the pedicab’s status.

It’s nice to know that people can “pungko anay” for part of their journey. What a wonderful way to commemorate the life and laughs of a beloved uncle! His ashes may be back in the US, but a small part of him remains in the Philippines.