Benj Manalo (left) and Jay Manalo | Image: Instagram/@benj, @jaymanalo30
It was a story that not many knew about comedian Jose Manalo’s son Benj Manalo, but one that the latter definitely gets his kicks telling.
Apparently, up until he was well into adulthood, Benj thought that his real father was actor Jay Manalo, especially with what little he knew about his biological father.
In a “Fast Talk with Boy Abunda” interview, Benj narrated that he was only two years old when Jose and his mother got separated, and the only clues he had about the identity of his dad were pointing him to Jay. The suspense was adding up, as his mother would not reveal his father’s identity to him.
“Ang alam ko lang, ang tatay ko was nagtatrabaho sa [showbiz] industry and nag-start sa letter J [ang name]. Ang kilala ko lang that time was si Jay Manalo,” he said.
(All I know is that my father was working in the showbiz industry and his name started with the letter J. All I knew at that time was Jay Manalo.)
Benj said that it wasn’t until he was already in fourth year high school when he learned that it was the comedian Jose, not Jay, who fathered him.
However, the story didn’t stop there.
Benj was already starting in show business when he got the chance to meet Jay at a party.
Joel Torre and Cherry Pie Picache, who were privy to his predicament with Benj’s father, decided to play a joke at Jay’s expense when they introduced them to one another.
“Nakita namin sa isang party si Tito Jay. Sabi nila (Torre and Picache), ‘Jay, ipakikilala namin sa ‘yo si Benj.’ ‘O Benj, Manalo.’ It was a running joke. Hanggang nakilala ko siya, akala niya talaga anak niya ako for about 15 to 20 minutes,” he shared.
(We saw Tito Jay Manalo at a party. They told him, “Jay, we’d like to introduce to you Benj, Benj Manalo”… It was a running joke. For the whole of 15 to 20 minutes, he thought I was really his son.)
Picache and Torre eventually owned up to the joke, saying, “Jay, joke lang, joke lang,” said Benj, as he narrated how Jay entertained the thought of being a father to Benj.
In 2016, Jay revealed that he fathered 12 children with six different women. However, he also said that his womanizing ways are behind him, as he’s now happy with his non-showbiz wife, Anna Ryza Austra-Manalo.
The couple has been married for more than 15 years and share five children.
Meanwhile, Benj said that upon learning about real father, Jose, he was proud of him, and bragged about having a famous father.