HINDI SA LAHAT NG ASPETO, ang gobyerno ang namamahala sa isang lipunan—lalo pa kung isa itong tiwali. While the law appears to govern everything, the most powerful are not always the ones who create or enforce it, but those who operate behind it.
Only the upper echelons of the highest society know that the metropolitan areas of the country are under the control of the oligarch families who are also called The IV. Sa kabilang banda, ang mga ito ay nananatiling salinsalita lamang pagdating sa mga pangkaraniwan.
Sinu-sino pa nga ba ang makatatanaw sa mga mandaragit kundi silang mga matataas lamang ang lipad? Subalit ang ibon, gaano man kataas ang lipad, habang nananatili itong nasa lilim ng pakpak ng mga lawin, ay isa pa ring silain.
These families stood for one another but like the predators they are, they are vigilant to one's downfall as it could mean an ascension for the other. That's the thing about power, everybody wants it. Even those who claim they have no desire for it often end up in its grip.
Artemio Aguila was a notable man who united these four big families into one major criminal organisation that ever existed in history. He was the fucking legend for it—at least until he showed leniency over a man who betrayed him in their past friendship.
Everybody knew there was no hope to save Parokya Santisima's legacy from the hands of the lone pastor, Jacinto Guerrero-Benitez, or to whom his townsfolk called the madman.
That was until Artemio found himself in need of a place for his transactions and a secure location to stash his contraband, and who would ever suspect a church for being a hideout?
Parokya Santisima fastly became recognised, not just by the townsfolk but also by the country itself. Jacinto was delighted his solitary vigil finally paid off and it felt as though it was him they were worshipping. But his fantasy died as quickly as it came, realising that people didn't come out to his devotion but because they had faith in Artemio.
Jacinto's desire bent in seeing how revered his friend was. He wanted that power, and since he understood more than anyone else that power belongs to those who can take it, so he did.
Because traitors recognise each other, one of these families had forged an alliance with him. Their first betrayal was to sabotage every transaction of the organisation and by doing so, the other family was wrongly accused and eliminated from the circle.
It was a two birds in one stone shot—they gained more access to everything and also managed to lower the security of the The IV. The latter allowed them to fuck up the rest by involving them in a scandal that would keep them distracted enough for the traitors to finally do the plan that cost the life of Artemio and his wife, the woman Jacinto had once loved, Junya Agatep.
When the families came to realise what Jacinto had done, they could no longer do shit as he had fled with the riches he stole from them. He has gone hiding for a long time, but The IV is a patient-seeker that will pull him back in the war of his own making.
Power doesn't always appear as it seems, and like all things it can also be a cage. The thing about these people is that no matter how immense their power, they could never reign over the semblance they share with those beneath them—they are never truly free.
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