Is this just guilt, or is Rigor (John Estrada) finally facing the karma for his sins?

He became so evil toward his own family, broke them apart, and caused them pain. But there came a point when whispers of guilt started haunting Rigor. Well, what goes around comes around, and maybe now he’s facing his comeuppance. Like a cosmic boomerang, the hurt, dishonesty, and all the bad actions he inflicted on his family circled back to him in the shape of regret, although just temporarily, as shown in these 5 scenes from “FPJ's Batang Quiapo.” 

There’s probably no better way to show Rigor’s sorrow than by asking for forgiveness from his wife, Marites (Cherry Pie Picache), for his affair with Lena (Mercedes Cabral). Rigor saying sorry to Marites was something we never thought would happen. But in his silence, and in his embrace of Marites, his regret was loud. However, Marites wiped her tears, boldly removed Rigor’s arms, and pushed him away. Rigor stood up and tried to press his lips to hers, but Marites couldn’t bring herself to accept his kiss due to the immense agony she felt.

If at first, he worshipped his ‘other woman’ Lena like a goddess, there came a point when it felt like Rigor had been splashed with a bucket of cold water, and he finally realized that what he and Lena did was wrong because they had hurt Marites. Of course, the audacious mistress got angry and even boldly dared him to choose between her and his legal wife. The way Rigor quietly fired back, telling Lena to stop asking questions and making demands that would only would her feelings, was a clear sign that, at least in that moment, he had chosen Marites.

They say you only see a person’s worth when they’re gone, and Rigor learned this the hard way—although fleetingly—when Marites was put in critical condition after being stabbed by Lena herself. Rigor then had to also deal with the fact that, in a heartbreaking turn, he shot Lena to stop her violent rampage after she miscarried.

While at the hospital, anxiously waiting to see if Marites would survive, Rigor was struck by a flood of memories of all the wrongs he had done to his wife. He remembered how he deceived her, openly chose Lena over her, and even brought his paramour into their home. He recalled the cruel words he had said to Marites, the times he raised his hand against her, and how he trampled on her dignity as if she were nothing. In that moment, the full weight of his crimes against his wife hit him, and he realized how foolish he had been to choose his mistress over his family.

Whether it was his ego or his heart that was shattered, Rigor wasn't able to escape the sharpness of the words thrown at him by his youngest son, Santino (Ronwaldo Martin). Santino unleashed years of pent-up bitterness, calling out his father for being selfish, unkind, and abusive toward both his wife and children. His son even told him that, after everything that had happened to their family because of Rigor’s actions, he no longer knew how to respect or see him as a father.

Rigor returned home that day, his heart heavy with the weight of everything that had happened. In his conversation with his best friend Mando (Allan Paule), he confessed that he had finally realized his family was all he truly had, and he didn’t want to lose them—especially his spouse. His tone had shifted completely as he acknowledged the intense trouble he had caused his family. In response, Mando advised him to understand that Marites, too, was a victim of a tragic past when Ramon (Christopher de Leon) violated her, which led to Rigor’s loss of love for his wife.

Rigor walked into their house in silence. He found the place empty—maybe as empty as the feeling inside him that night, haunted by the consequences of his evil actions, particularly his affair with Lena, the price of which he's now paying. And for the first time, we saw Rigor cry. He scolded himself for the suffering he had inflicted on his wife and the destruction he had caused to the lives of those around him.

But with everything that's happened recently, it seems like Rigor's remorse faded quickly. Don't miss an episode of “FPJ's Batang Quiapo,” weeknights, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, TV5, and A2Z.