Hostage taker’s family broken up by drugs

BAYUGAN, Agusan del Sur — Before drug addiction led Diomedes Talbo to commit a tragic crime last week, it had already broken up his family and traumatized his two daughters in the worst possible way.

It is believed that drug addiction was the root cause of the matter that drove Diomedes out of Isabela and into Pasay City, where he took four-year-old Dexter Balala hostage and ended the two-hour drama by stabbing the boy to death. Both of Diomedes’ daughters have reportedly suffered sexual abuses at the hands of their own grandfather and uncle-in-law.

Ricardo Ugay, married to Alicia, the sister of Diomedes’ ex-wife, is believed to be — like Diomedes — a drug addict.

No one knew when the drug problem began in the Talbo family, but Diomedes’ drug addiction, barkada and drinking problem had allegedly caused frequent domestic fights between him and his ex-wife, Leonora Solis Talbo, when they were living in San Mateo, Isabela. They finally broke up in 1998.

After the breakup, Nora went back to Trento, her hometown, with all of their three children –daughters Glaisa and Lovely, and son Luis (not their real names). Diomedes also went along and stayed there for one month.

Before he left, Diomedes bought a tricycle for his in-laws to use as a means of income. Then he went back to San Mateo. Nora, on the other hand, found a job in Saudi Arabia. She left all the kids with her parents in Trento, thinking that they would be safe in their grandparents’ care.

But that was where things started going wrong. Sometime in 1999, when Glaisa was in her third year of high school, the 67-year-old grandfather allegedly made a series of sexual advances at her. He would slip through Glaisa’s room in the middle of the night and fondled her private parts, said some of her close friends at the Trento National High School, in whom she had confided.

The friends then suggested that Glaisa report the abuses to the police. However, when the authorities started looking into the accusation, Glaisa refused to testify, making it difficult for the police to take any action against her grandfather.

Given her situation, the friends advised Glaisa to move in with her aunt and uncle-in-law, who live in a nearby village in Trento. That was to keep her away from the dirty old grandpa. But Glaisa’s move only augmented her crisis. Ricardo, a tricycle driver, also had an eye on Glaisa and her sister.

Some time in October last year, Ricardo allegedly raped Glaisa. But, again, she refused to testify against the culprit. That made it hard for the police to pursue the case.

The sexual abuses of his daughters were not the only subject that crowded Diomedes’ mind. In March, Nora sent P20,000 of her hard-earned money to Glaisa to spend on high school graduation. The money, of course, was sent to Alicia. When her aunt passed the money to Glaisa’s hand, the amount was allegedly down to P1,000.

The girl finally reached out to her father for help. Glaisa wrote a letter to Diomedes, asking to be closer to him. That brought Diomedes to the Philtranco bus terminal in Pasay City on May 31.

The crime Diomedes committed has drawn attention to the sexual abuses his daughters have reportedly suffered. Yesterday, Agusan del Sur Provincial Board member Santiago Cane said he will launch an investigation into the accusations.

Cane said provincial government officials should increase their awareness of the sexual abuses within the same family, especially when minors are the victims of such abuses. Cane, the principal author of the Agusan del Sur’s Children Code, said he has been in dismay over the abuses that the Talbo girls have reportedly suffered.

"I hope that this case served as an eye opener to all of us," said Cane, also an advocate of children’s rights protection. "The state must be ready to prevent these things from happening at all times."

Cane said he will seek the testimony of Glaisa’s teacher and classmates, in whom the girl confided.

Glaisa is now back in the same house as her grandfather, where sister Lovely, now in her third year in high school, also lives. Luis, meanwhile, now lives with the aunt and uncle-in-law. Luis is to be in Grade 5 when school resumes later this month.

When the girls learned of the tragic incident involving their father, Glaisa, now 17, burst into tears in front of the TV camera.

"Mabait si Papa, tahimik at responsible pang ama noong ito’y hindi pa nagda-drugs (Father is kind, silent and a responsible provider when he was not yet on drugs)," she said, tears running down her face. "Hindi namin akalain na ganito ang mangyari sa kanya. Tumawag na si Auntie sa Saudi at malamang uuwi si Mama Nora (We never thought this would happen to him. Auntie has already called Mom in Saudi and it’s likely she’ll come home)."

Forgiveness

Meanwhile, Diomedes’ relatives in San Mateo are begging for forgiveness for the crime he committed last Friday.

"Dumawdawat kami ti pammakawan iti inaramid ni Diony (We beseech for forgiveness for what Diony has committed)," said Josie Talbo, Diomedes’ older sister. Her message was intended for the parents of the four-year-old Dexter, who remain in grief at their home in San Fernando City in Pampanga.

"With what happened to our brother, we hope this would somewhat appease them," said the teary-eyed Josie, referring to the police action that took her brother’s life.

Five days after the tragedy, the Talbos said they still could not imagine what evil had possessed Diomedes to commit such a heinous crime.

Talbo’s children, Glaisa, Lovely and Allan Roy were brought to Manila by ABS-CBN to attend their father’s wake, though they had initially said they would not be there. His ex-wife, Diony, was also there.

According to sources in ABS-CBN, the Talbo children met with the family of Balala. The meeting seemed to be one of mutual consolation, with Balala’s father saying he did not blame Talbo, but instead held the police responsible for his son’s death.