Senior Insp. Manuel Taytayon Jr. Photo by Cathrine Gonzales / INQUIRER.net
It was a typical Sunday for PO2 Manuel Taytayon Sr. He was lying on the couch watching television, when his son, Senior Insp. Manuel “JR” Taytayon Jr. went upstairs and informed him of a police operation he was about to lead that day.
“Pa, may pinapatrabaho sa’kin (Pa, I was given an assignment),” Taytayon Sr. said, remembering the words of his son.
He asked why JR had to be in the operation since it was, in the first place, a Sunday. But his son insisted, saying he should not let this opportunity pass.
He warned JR of the operation’s possible dangers, but his son only confidently answered, “Alam ko na yan, pa (I know that already),” before giving him a hug and a kiss.
“Aalis na ako, pa (I am going now),” JR said, then shut the door of the room with a loud thud his father would never forget.
No one knew that meant his final goodbye.
Hours later, news spread like wildfire. Senior Insp. Manuel Taytayon Jr., chief of the Intelligence Section of the Pasay City Police, was killed in a shootout with Narc Tulod Delemios, a jail escapee who killed Grab driver Gerardo Maquidato Jr. and 19-year-old Gino Balbuena. Delemios died in the shootout.
JR sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was declared dead on arrival at the San Juan De Dios Hospital in Pasay City. He was only 28 years old.
READ: Pasay police intel chief killed in shootout with jail escapee
The next moments tortured his father.
“Nanonood ako ng TV sa kwarto. Tumawag ‘yung pamangkin ko. Tapos sabi may tama si Bia (I was watching the television. My nephew called. He said Bia sustained gunshot wounds),” Taytayon Sr. said, referring to JR’s other nickname.
He then knew JR was gone.
At that moment, with JR gone, the world for him stopped turning. He now was also faced with the heart-breaking task of informing his wife, who is suffering from heart disease, of the terrible news. Not knowing how to break the news, to his wife, he called his sister-in-law first.
“Tinawagan ko ‘yung kapatid niya. Sabi ko patay na si JR. Nakita ko kasi ‘yung anak ko sa ospital, nandoon na. [I said] ‘Wag mong sasabihin kay misis na patay [na]. Pumunta kayo dito, gumawa ka ng paraan. Sabihin mo na lang ako ‘yung naka-confine,’” he told INQUIRER.net.
(I called her sibling. I said JR is dead. I already saw him at the hospital. I said, “Don’t tell his mother that he’s already dead. Just go here, make a way. Tell her I was the one confined.”)
His wife collapsed when she saw the lifeless body of their son.
“Ilang beses pong tumumba iyan. Tapos [tuwing] magigising siya, sisigaw siya ulit, ‘yung halik daw ng anak niya [hinahanap niya]. Sigaw niya ‘yun kahit [halos] mamatay na siya, masigaw niya lang ‘yung salitang ‘yung halik ng anak niya,” Taytayon Sr. said, with a cracked voice, tears rolling down silently on his face.
(He collapsed a couple of times. Everytime she wakes up, she will scream, she is looking for the kisses of her son. That was her shout even if she almost died, she just wants to utter those words, the kisses of her son.)
‘I am also a cop’
The death of Senior Inspector Taytayon Jr. was a tragedy for his family, but it was also hounded with controversy as his father raised doubts on the circumstances of his sudden death. Reports said the elder Taytayon learned that his son was shot in the back and in the leg.
Citing an autopsy report on the intel chief’s body, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde explained JR sustained two fatal shots on his back. He said the slugs recovered from the victim’s body came from the suspect’s 9mm pistol.
He also reportedly sustained a few more gunshot wounds, but the origin has not been determined as of the moment.
As to how JR sustained gunshot wounds in the back, Albayalde said it is “human nature” to duck as initial reaction when someone hears gunfire.
READ: Albayalde: Pasay intel chief’s case not yet closed
“Kung ano po ang sinasabi nila ngayon, pulis po ako, alam ko ‘yung gawain ng isang pulis,” said Taytayon Sr., who is stationed at the District Intelligence Unit of the Southern Police District. At 56, he has been a policeman for around 30 years.
(Regardless of what they are saying now, I am a police officer. I know how a police officer acts.)
Just to be sure, he said he will also inspect the crime scene in Barangay 148, Zone 16 in Pasay City after his son’s burial on Sunday to know “how true” the PNP’s statement was.
‘I wish he was not a cop’
The elder Taytayon wanted JR to become a police officer like him. But he said it might have been better if they lived simpler lives, had he known about his son’s fate.
“Kung pwede lang, hindi ko na siya ilalagay sa pulis. Napakasarap kasi ng kahit kayong mag-ama, kahit na magsasaka kayo, kung kasama mo ang anak mo, lalo pa’t ganyan kalambing, masaya na kayo basta buhay,” he said.
(If possible, I would not have placed him in the police. It would be really great if a father and son, even if you are farmers, if you have your child with you, especially if he’s that sweet, you will be happy as long as you are alive.)
“Kung sasabihin na matagal siyang mabubuhay kung hindi siya naging pulis, kahit magsasaka kami, kahit pa bagoong lang ang ulamin namin sa araw-araw, basta makapiling ko lang siya hanggang ako ‘yung pumanaw, napakasaya ko na, dahil napakalambing nga niyan,” he said.
(If you can say that he will live longer if he was not a policeman, even if we are just farmers, even if we only have ‘bagoong’ in our meal everyday, as long as we are together until I die, I will be really happy, because he is really sweet.)
For Taytayon Sr., the situation would have been acceptable if his son died a “proper death,” saying he only uttered those words of regret out of deep anguish and longing for his son.
As if to help comfort his family, JR was honored by the PNP with the medal of merit or the “medalya ng kagalingan,” an award conferred to police officers “for a single act of heroism or a series of heroic acts in a duty responsibility.”
But for Taytayon Sr., the award does not mean anything anymore.
“Kahit balutin mo ng medalya iyang anak ko, wala nang halaga iyan. Patay na po yung anak ko eh. Sa akin walang halaga (Even if you cover my son with medals, it does not have any value. My son is already dead. To me, it does not have any worth),” he said.
“Pag nakikita sa taong-bayan siguro, kung nakita man nila, bayani ang anak ko, pero sa isang magulang na kagaya ko, kahit balutin mo iyan ng ginto, patay na siya. Wala na pong kahalaga-halaga iyan,” he said.
(Maybe our countrymen see my son as a hero, but to a parent like me, even if you cover him with gold, he is dead. It does not have any value at all.)
In the end, it would be the sight of his son, his hugs and kisses once more, that could give him comfort.
“Napaka-bigat talaga ng damdamin ko. Sobra sobra kasi, kasi gusto ko po siyang makita, gusto ko pa siyang makapiling (My feelings are really heavy. It’s really too much, because I want to see him, I want to be with him),” he said. /muf