Page 36 - WashingtonSyCip_Bio_Excerpt_2nd_Edition

Part One

Alex picked up the habit from his student days, when he was both editor of the
Collegian and captain of the debating team while attending law school at the same
time. For relief, Alex turned to cigarettes, and was soon lighting up a storm. Wash
used to wonder where Alex got the money to support his vice, knowing the allowance
their father gave them both. Alex had a ready answer for that: revealing yet another
talent, he had been writing short stories for popular periodicals such as the Sunday
Tribune Magazine under various pseudonyms, and was earning the not inconsiderable
sum of P50 for every published story.

When Alex began writing and publishing short stories in college under various
pseudonyms, he sent copies out to Dave, who sent back his comments on the fiction.
Wash’s reaction, however, was simply to ask, “How much did they pay you?” When
Alex told him how much, Wash then proceeded to compute Alex’s earnings against
the time he had expended on the writing of the stories, and concluded that the effort
was well worth it—no matter what the contents were.

The brilliant livewire that he was, Alex was something of a big man on campus, and
had no problem attracting attention. Once, when Wash went to the Collegian office
to look him up, Alex was still out, so Wash waited in his chair; in came a pretty girl
who struck up a conversation with him, thinking he was his brother. Savoring the
moment, Wash took his time to tell the truth.

A glutton for studying

In high school, Wash remained unsure of what exactly he wanted to be. He knew,
however, that somehow or other, he was going to be engaged in business—that is,
except banking. Wash explains: “At that time there were few banks, such as BPI,
People’s Bank—set up by American old-timers—China Bank, Standard Chartered,
HSBC, and Citibank. But my father’s policy was that we should not think of working
at the bank. He said, ‘If you do well and I promote you, they would think nepotism
and it would embarrass me. If you don’t do well, it would also embarrass me!’ So
therefore, banking, which would have been a normal thing to think of, was out as far
as I was concerned.”

The law was also out, because Alex was already studying it. As close as they were in
other ways, the brothers seemed disinclined to imagine a future working together

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