As we all know, there’s definitely no such thing as a perfect relationship, even when it comes to family. Regardless of how tightly bonded family members are, the time will come when they’re going to have misunderstandings or consider each other as their greatest enemies—like what exactly happened to Tanggol (Coco Martin) and Santino (Ron Martin) in “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.”
Those who have been watching the series since Day 1 have surely witnessed how the brothers used to be so close to one another, with Santino looking up to Tanggol not just as his older brother but also as his ultimate protector, supporter, ally, and mentor. However, as Tanggol left their house after being kicked out by Rigor (John Estrada), their once solid relationship started to crumble, as Santino eventually harbored resentment against his kuya.
Santino felt that Tanggol had abandoned their family at the time when they needed him the most, not to mention that Rigor was also able to influence him to abhor his brother. He had ingrained into him that it was Tanggol who must be blamed for all the unfortunate events that had happened in their family and even made him agree to serve as his bait for the authorities to finally seize him and his group.
The grudge of Santino against Tanggol continued to grow until he came to the point that he attempted to kill him not just once but twice. Even though he was capable of retaliating against him, Tanggol opted to simply let what Santino had done to him pass because he loved him so much. And we’re able to see his unconditional love for him in their last moments together, wherein Tanggol allowed Santino to beat him up and made him feel how he sincerely loved him.
This apparently softened Santino’s heart, making us assume that there’s still a second chance for them to mend their broken relationship. Unfortunately, that’s not going to happen anymore after Santino got killed during the intense encounter between the groups of Tanggol and Rigor.
Now that Santino is already gone for good, let us look back on some of his intense confrontations with Tanggol in “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” via this episode of Kapamilya Toplist.
The once close-knit relationship of the brothers seemingly began to fall apart when Noy (Lou Veloso), the longtime best friend of their grandmother, Tindeng (Charo Santos), was killed by Lena (Mercedes Cabral), the mistress of Rigor. As Tanggol returned home to pay his last respects to Noy, Santino couldn’t help but express how totally upset he was with him for leaving them behind and not exerting effort to either visit them or check on them.
He reproached him that it shouldn’t have happened if only he was there to protect them from Lena and Rigor, who stripped their family of their rights in their own house and threatened the lives of Tindeng and Marites (Cherry Pie Picache) a number of times. Even though Santino backed Tanggol up during his altercation with Rigor, his bitterness against him still persisted, as he told him that he should have thought of taking him and their mother away from Rigor if he really loved and cared for them. Santino even refused the financial aid that Tanggol was supposed to give him, telling him that it was him whom they needed more than his money.
As he lost his number one confidant, Santino went astray and found the sense of belonging that he’d been yearning for in the Red Phoenix group led by Lucio (Ronnie Lazaro). Fueled by his personal resentment against him and the provocation of Lucio, Santino almost killed Tanggol when he detonated the bomb during the miting de avance of his party, which was ordered by the Guerreros. Tanggol managed to survive and eventually forgive Santino when he found out that he was part of the group who carried out the horrendous crime.
Santino then almost succeeded in finishing off Tanggol when he fatally shot him multiple times after mistakenly believing that it was him who killed his girlfriend, Erika (Gillian Vicencio), and their unborn child during the violent clash between the Montenegros and the Guerreros.
Upon learning that Tanggol was still alive, this reignited Santino’s rage and eagerness to kill him during their next encounter—which was later revealed to be their last time seeing and speaking with one another. Santino immediately got infuriated as the friends of Tanggol frisked him and found a gun, which, according to him, was only for self-protection in case their group would do something unpleasant to him. Although it was Santino who initially did him bad, Tanggol assured him that they wouldn’t harm him since he really came there in hopes of patching things up between them.
Tanggol may have made it clear to him that he was not the person Santino thought him to be, nor the culprit behind the murder of his loved ones; yet Santino remained firm in his belief that it was really him. He also refused to believe his brother’s claim that he loved him and went on to beat him up until Tanggol was able to pacify him with his embrace.
As Santino subsequently came to his senses, he and Tanggol both cried as they apologized to one another. In the end, it was their genuine love for each other and brotherhood that still prevailed, as Santino advised Tanggol to flee the place since they were set up by the police led by Rigor. Unfortunately, just as they were looking forward to starting afresh with their relationship, Santino was accidentally killed by Rigor as he was aiming for Tanggol.
Due to Santino’s untimely demise, viewers better brace themselves for more action-packed and more powerful action that we’re definitely going to witness as Tanggol and Rigor are expected to exact vengeance on each other. Thus, you better not miss the next episodes of “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo,” weeknights on Kapamilya Channel, ALLTV2, A2Z, iWant, and Kapamilya Online Live (KOL).