First Christmas without Mark Gil going to be hard for Andi, family

MANILA, Philippines - The Eigenmann clan will be celebrating their first Christmas together without Mark Gil, after he passed away last September 1 due to liver cirrhosis.

“It's going to be hard for us because it's going to be the first Christmas that my dad will not be with us,” Andi Eigenmann said in an interview on Tuesday. “Alam naman namin na kahit wala d'yan ang dad namin physically, my dad is there spiritually, emotionally.”

Although saddened, the actress believes that her father's death has brought them closer together, which is what he has been doing when he was still alive.

“'Yon ang malaking iniwan sa amin ng daddy ko – togetherness. I believe that our family will not be as close as we are now, regardless of how big we are as a family, sobrang close namin talaga. I know that my dad has been a big part on how that came to be.”

So far, there are no final plans on how they would celebrate Christmas, but what Andi's sure of is that she'll be with her whole family. "Definitely we'll be together hindi pa lang namin alam kung saan,” she said.

Another thing that Andi learned from her dad is always being there for her child, especially that she's a single mom to her three-year-old daughter Ellie.

Although she's busy with her work, especially now that she'll start working on her upcoming film “Your Place or Mine,” Andi makes sure to make time for her daughter.

“Of course I can't be with her 24/7, pero siyempre a good amount of my day will still be for her, to spend time with her,” Andi said. “Kahit gaano ako kapuyat, nasanay na ako na kapag ginigising niya ako sa umaga, gumigising ako para sa kanya kahit sandali lang. Basta I would always make time for her 'cause she's the most important thing in my life.”