New week, new month, new chapter, and new set of characters greeted ardent viewers of “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” as its second book commenced on the first week of March (March 3 to March 8)!  

As Tindeng (Charo Santos), Roda (Joel Lamangan), and Santino (Ronwaldo Martin) are scrambling to find ways on how to bail Marites (Cherry Pie Picache) out of jail, his preposterous husband Rigor (John Estrada) is still adamant to drop the charges filed against her despite the appeal of his best friend and former colleague, Mando (Allan Paule).  

On their way to visit Marites in prison, Tindeng was angrily approached by some of their neighbors for all the mess and chaos that transpired in their community the day before that was instigated by their family. However, she and Roda were shocked to hear their other neighbors who were interrogated by the cops defend Tanggol and pin the blame on Rigor. 

Atty. Vera Saldivar (Maika Rivera) paid David (McCoy de Leon) a visit at the hospital and was totally shocked by how terrible he looked with all the wounds, bruises, and injuries that he sustained. She reprimanded him for not sticking to their initial plans and asked him for more reassurance regarding their agreement that a portion of the assets they’re going to acquire would be given to her.  

Much to David’s surprise, Rigor suddenly came into the room and caught him and Vera arguing, which compelled him to lie once again by saying that they were only discussing the property that he bought with his hard-earned money from working with the Montenegros. After Vera left, Rigor expressed his objection on the idea of David using the money of the Montenegros, but the latter insisted that the money didn’t come from evil, which the former unfortunately believed in. 

As the Montenegros anticipate the homecoming of their long-lost heir, Tanggol, Ramon (Christopher de Leon) couldn’t help but get worried as the news of his reappearance spread in Quiapo. Thus, he sought the help of PBGEN Avelino Rivas (Pontri Bernardo) in covering his tracks and making sure that nobody finds out that he’s alive. But Gen. Rivas told him that his hands are tied about it, so he instructed him to go to the municipal hall and ask the mayor to be the one to do it. 

As it turned out, the mayor he was referring to is Roberto Guerrero, played by veteran actor Albert Martinez. Alongside him, the other new characters also made their entrance in the second episode of the previous week, which include Andrea Brillantes, Michael de Mesa, Shamaine Buencamino, Gio Alvarez, Vince Rillon, and Nonong Balinan. They seem to be a family of thieves who make a living by stealing and extorting money through different modus operandi. 

They attempted to extort money from Mayor Guerrero by having the character of Andrea, Fatima, pretend that she’s truly hurt after one of the drivers of his convoy accidentally hit her while she was crossing the street. As their group coerced him to give them money for Fatima’s hospitalization, Mayor Guerrero only handed them P5,000 then left, much to their disappointment since it wasn’t enough for them to redeem their house. 

When he arrived at the municipal hall, Mayor Guerrero’s attention was caught by the campaign leaflet being held by his nephew, Iñigo (Albie Casiño), declaring the anticipated candidacy of Vice Mayor Olivia Guerrero-Torres (Chanda Romero), who is his mother and the older sister of Roberto. Tension brewed between Roberto and Olivia as he reproached her for getting ahead of their father’s declaration, which prompted her to remind him that their dad promised to let her take the mayoral seat once his third term is over. This obviously didn’t sit well with Roberto as he furiously left her office.  

While en route to the Montenegro mansion to meet with Ramon and Don Julio (Tommy Abuel), Tanggol got cut off on the road by the car holding Congressman Miguelito Guerrero (Jake Cuenca) and his righthand, Jason (Paolo Paraiso). This, of course, enraged Tanggol and his friends, so they refused to back down and initiated a race with them without minding if the person inside is a high-ranking government official. Tanggol only stopped and calmed down after being reminded by Madonna (Kim Domingo) that they might get arrested and his friends might end up in jail.   

PBGen Rivas indeed followed what Ramon told him to do and Mayor Guerrero immediately called PLTCOL Salvador Romero (Efren Reyes Jr.) to order him to close Ramon’s case as soon as possible. Col. Romero tried to argue since many of his colleagues were killed, but Mayor Guerrero advised him to simply give the bereaved families enough money so they’ll all keep their mouths shut. The mayor reminded the new station commander that it was he who put him in his current position, so he has no choice but to obey. 

Rigor then went to the police station to speak with Col. Romero regarding his willingness to help in finding Ramon, but the latter turned him down by refuting his claim that Ramon is still alive and bringing up what he did to Gen. Pacheco (Julio Diaz). Despite the outcome of his conversation with Col. Romero, Rigor is still determined to hunt down and kill Ramon, together with his son Tanggol. 

He said the same to Marites, whom he admonished again for being the root cause of all the unfortunate events that are happening to him and their family. She insisted her innocence from all his baseless allegations anew, but Rigor is resolute in making her suffer and turning Ramon’s fake death to reality.  

Just when Rigor thought that Marites would rot in jail, she was bailed out by Ramon through the lawyer that he sent. She was then brought to a restaurant where Ramon had been waiting for her and tried to talk her out of rebuilding a family with Tanggol. Marites declined his offer of the life she truly deserves and asked him to leave her alone, but her words fell on deaf ears as Ramon remained persistent and continued to persuade her. 

Ramon kissed her on the lips but she responded to it with a slap, explaining that she still needs time to process everything that he revealed and she has to put the welfare of her beloved children first. He told her that he’s willing to wait for her and he would never ever give up on her, with Marites reflecting on what just happened between them as she headed home. 

Another tension ignited at the city hall as Miguelito engaged in a heated debate with her parents Mayor Guerrero and First Lady Jackie Guerrero (Angel Aquino). As Miguelito expressed his desire to finally quit politics after heeding their family’s request to give it a try, they highly objected and reminded him of his important role in the staying power of their family in the City of Manila. 

The previous week concluded with Tanggol and his friends coming to the Montenegro mansion to meet with Ramon and Don Julio, who were both delighted that he granted their wish. 

Below are some of the reactions about last week’s episodes that Kapamilya netizens posted on X (formerly Twitter).  

Apparently, most of them were dismayed that Marites declined the offer of Ramon of better and more comfortable life that she truly deserves and rather chose to go back to the miserable life with Rigor in Quiapo for the sake of her beloved sons. At the same time, some of them weren’t able to contain their excitement with regard to the arrival of the new characters portrayed by some of the brilliant veterans and seasoned stars in the local entertainment scene, as well as up-and-coming and promising artists.   

Will Tanggol finally accept the life of being a Montenegro? What will happen in the highly anticipated encounter between Tanggol and Miguelito? Let’s all find out in the upcoming episodes of “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo,” weeknights at 8:00 PM, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), A2Z, and TV5.