Akin to real life, the role of fathers in FPJ’s Batang Quiapo is very important as it establishes how the main and sub-narratives take shape. Whether it is a dad who is often tender and hilarious or one who is gruff and tough, the trending series covers every type of father.

The Strict Dad

Rigor (John Estrada) represents the ‘indifferent’ fathers club, as he focuses less on making his children feel good through praises and more on challenging them with high expectations. Apparently, he would choose to protect his reputation at work than keep his family intact and care for his sons. He channels his bitterness over a tragic past by being harsh towards Tanggol, the son Marites (Cherry Pie Picache) had from Ramon (Christopher de Leon)’s sexual assault, almost to the point of wanting to gun him down.

Although he shows a different side – supportive and loving – to his favorite child, David (McCoy de Leon), he does not take any kind of nonsense. He has sky-high expectations for him. He pushes David to follow in his footsteps as a cop, believing that he can lift their family out of poverty. Meanwhile, he is a disciplinarian and often cold to his youngest, Santino (Ronwaldo Martin), thinking the latter is less dependable, partly due to his closeness with Tanggol.

The Longing Dad

Barring the moral aspect of the way he lives his life, Ramon shows that he cares about what is going on with his son. Despite how much of a monster he’s become, he continues to hunt for his son and take on his paternal obligations. The day he gets to discover Tanggol’s identity as his son is one of the most anticipated events in the story, though we hope he doesn’t create a monster in him like his own father did.

The Sacrificial Dad

He is not perfect but he tries his best instead of doing nothing at all. Though some might question his decision to provide his only daughter a grand birthday party despite their challenging financial situation, Marsing (Pen Medina) tugged at our heartstrings when he vowed to do anything to make Mokang (Lovi Poe) happy. And because he is willing to sacrifice everything for his family, he is the reason why Mokang is determined to achieve her big dreams of finishing her studies, though this also had to take a backseat due to his hospitalization.

The Insightful Father Figure

It is a fact that fatherhood does not necessarily require biological components because there’s a lot more to this intricate role than genealogy. At the end of the day, it’s all about the heart. In the series, we see Tanggol get dragged into the wrong path. But thanks to the likes of Berting (Joey Marquez), who impart timeless words of wisdom and show genuine care, he is able to get a clearer perspective on life. Berting was the first person whom Tanggol ran to for refuge, and he sheltered him without judgment. For Bering, there’s always room for redemption. He encourages Tanggol to leave the rogue life behind, and he is determined to fix Tanggol’s temper by confiscating his gun in hopes that it’ll teach him not to act in anger. It is one thing to impart reminders but to actually set a good example is another. Berting makes sure he does both.

The Cunning, Evil Dad

Sadly, Don Julio (Tommy Abuel) is the reason why Ramon grew up to be a bad guy by passing on his illegal drug business to him. As a mafia leader, he is naturally wicked. But if there’s one good thing he did as a father, it would be caring about Ramon’s situation in prison and providing his adopted daughter Olga (Irma Adlawan) home and family. He even extended supervision and protection to Olga’s son, Greg (RK Bagatsing). When Greg passed away, Don Julio insisted to attend the wake despite his bad health, which means he genuinely cared about his daughter’s child.

FPJ’s Batang Quiapo may be just a teleserye, but many of its characters and situations are reflections of our reality. This includes the relationship of the story’s male characters to their kids.