Not wanting to lose the elections, the Guerreros desperately did everything they could to secure their win, with Roberto (Albert Martinez) ultimately asking the help of a police general and the Red Phoenix group to manipulate the results, especially when the opposing team was already leading the polls.
Their efforts paid off as all of them won in their respective positions—Miguelito as mayor, Roberto as vice mayor, and Jackie (Angel Aquino) as party-list representative—except for Don Gustavo, whom Roberto intentionally left behind as his way of avenging all the pain that he had caused his beloved mother, Doña Pilar (Celia Rodriguez).
Another intense battle ensued between the two families, as the Guerreros attacked the Montenegros at their mansion alongside the Quiapo Police. While Tanggol and his friends had managed to escape and eventually sought refuge at the Benito Family’s hideout, Ramon (Christopher de Leon) was gunned down by Rigor (John Estrada). On the other hand, Don Julio, Marites (Cherry Pie Picache), Divina (Rosanna Roces), and Emil (Jay Gonzaga) were nabbed.
Tanggol and his friends were almost able to rescue his still then-unconscious father from the hospital where he was being closely guarded by the police. However, they were forced to trade him to the Red Phoenix Group to release one of their friends, Oweng (Renz “Baby Giant” Baña), whom their leader, Lucio (Ronnie Lazaro), was able to get hold of. Lucio may have assured Tanggol that he would fulfill their agreement, yet he still ended up shooting Oweng on his way back to his friends.
A few days later, Tanggol managed to save Ramon from the Red Phoenix group singlehandedly, with the rest of Tropang Tanggol coming in afterwards to rescue them. They were also able to take Don Julio and his right-hand man, Franco (John Medina), back from the custody of the police while they were being transported to the correctional facility.
As she highly resented Tropang Tanggol for abandoning during their clash against the Guerreros—when in fact it was her and Emil who betrayed them first by planning to leave them behind—Divina decided to betray them by making a deal with Roberto. She didn’t simply relay to them the group’s hideout at the time, but she also agreed to cooperate with them for the immediate arrest of Tanggol and his friends in exchange for her and Emil’s freedom.
Although Divina’s tip helped them track down Tanggol and his friends, the police still failed to arrest them, as the group managed to hold their ground in the midst of the bloody encounter in which Fatima and the remaining members of her family were killed.
Thus, Roberto thought that it might be a great idea for him to promote Rigor in order to further fuel his deep-seated rage against Tanggol and Ramon. At the same time, it would be easier for their family to cover their crimes up or wage war against the Montenegros since they had Quiapo’s chief of police to back him up.
