Forbidden love - that was what Vincent Paul and Natasha Faye had, in the far city of Bogo. Just like the Romeo and Juliet story, the guy ended in a tragic death. The only difference was he did not take his life. He was shot dead by the antagonist, Natasha's father.
It was a quite controversial story because the father was a police officer, sworn into office with integrity and dignity. Testimonials surfaced saying that he was not in favor of the relationship the daughter was in so he took his gun and shot the lover, dead.
Well, the story was not a happy ever after story like some love stories are. To both ends, it was a painful incident. Natasha Faye lost the two most important people in her life - her boyfriend who is now in the arms of the creator and her father who is detained in prison.
Why would a man supposedly sworn by law to do good, use his power as a weapon of fatherhood?
It is a question we could speculate about for records spoke of Chief Inspector CeferinoTabay Jr.'s behavior during this 27 years of service to the people. Being in prison was nothing new to him since he has been there a lot of times.
The police should supposedly protect the lives of civilians. Now that the incident has happened, a lot of people have lost their trust on the very people who are supposed to guard our welfare.
As to being a parent, we cannot deny the fact that Tabay was in the wrong position. Parenthood requires a lot of patience. The love story of his daughter was just one he couldn't handle. Parents are expected to talk to their children, understand them and come to a common ground and settle the issue. But Tabay didn't do that, his pistol was his solution.
Surveys say that daughters who seek relationships at an early age either have dysfunctional fathers or no fathers at all. The relationship fills in the gap in their hearts for a lack of a father figure. And these surveys are not made up. I have seen a lot of fatherless acquaintances who jump from one relationship to another and end up with a messed up life at an early age because nobody was there to guide them - like a father would.
It is one side that Tabay should have looked at before letting all steam blow off at a young boy who had no fault at all. All he did was follow his young heart, believing in the word love for the person whom he thought forever would be possible.
But now that the love story has ended, justice is still to be sought. My only prayer for the Montescarlos family is to have the justice they deserve and for the Philippine National Police to rethink their values as officers of the law.