By ROBERT R. REQUINTINA
VETERAN singer Robert “Bert” Nievera, the father of OPM balladeer Martin Nievera, has passed away due to multiple organ failure in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was 81.
Martin announced the demise of his father on Instagram last Tuesday in which he uploaded a photo of his father giving him a haircut when he was a child.
The caption read: “You gave me life, you gave me dreams, you gave me a haircut. I will never forget you Dad! I love you!”
“I can’t believe you’re gone. Life will never be the same again,” said Martin. The singer used the hashtag “#RobertinParadise.”
Reports said that Martin and his twin sister Victoria earlier flew to Las Vegas when they learned about their father’s condition. The siblings reportedly still saw their dad alive when they arrived in the US.
In 2017, Martin said that his father who is based in Las Vegas suffered brain seizure, according to an interview on PEP.
“My father is great. He’s in Las Vegas. He’s very, very thin. He had some issues with his.. what do you call this? A seizure in his brain where he forgot everything for a week. One week lang.
“All of us were panicking, praying and worried. And then a week later, not only does he remember again, he remembers what he forgot, so I don’t know what that is. Baka kulang sa pansin. He’s better now, he’s remembering but he’s very very thin,” Martin said.
Bert was a big influence to Martin in terms of musical career.
Martin and his twin sister Victoria spent most of their childhood in Hawaii where Bert sang for the musical group called “Society of Seven” in the 1970s and 1980s.
Inspired by his father’s career, Martin returned to Manila in 1982 to start his singing career. The rest is history.
