It’s not unusual for domestic dispute cases to land in newspaper headlines. Two women — lawyer Amelie Alegre and a businessman’s wife Agnelen Uy — were murdered in August and October last year, respectively.
If the women victims didn’t end up dead, they were harassed and threatened with physical violence, as in the case of lawyer Jiecel Tiu who was accused by Mrs. Pearl Ungab of having an affair with her husband, Ronda Vice Mayor Jonah Ungab.
The latest case of domestic dispute that grabbed the public’s attention involved Jocelyn Sala, who was detained for three days courtesy of her former boyfriend Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Dionilo Mantos, who made a citizen’s arrest after she allegedly pelted his vehicle with a rock.
Sala tried to get Mantos to pay for the medical expenses of their ailing baby and, regardless of which account one believes in, resorted to throwing a rock at his vehicle to get his attention.
She did get his attention all right and landed in jail for her efforts.
Now that she is being considered for state custody under the Witness Protection Program, Mantos gets the onus of the responsibility to not only do right by her but to probably bear the consequences of his actions.
It’s too late in the day now to condemn Mantos, who pursued an affair with Sala despite the fact that he’s married. Extra-marital affairs usually end up badly not only for the adults involved but also for the children.
Sala’s previous complaint of violence against Mantos, whom she accused of beating her up in front of their five-year-old child, doesn’t bode well for the assistant prosecutor.
It’s up to Regional State Prosecutor Fernando Gubalane to determine if Mantos can still perform in his job considering the heat of the controversy generated by his “citizen’s arrest” of his former paramour.
Unlike Ungab, whose fate as an elected official will be determined by his constituents come May this year, Mantos’s tenure will largely be on the hands of his superiors.
For now, priority remains the protection of Sala whose sorry plight – Carbon police took pity and chipped in money for her so she can send it back home in Liloan town to buy milk and diapers for her baby — makes her more sympathetic in the eyes of the public.
Regardless of how the public sees him and how this incident shapes up, Mantos also owes it to Sala to provide for their children.
He’s living with the consequences of his actions, and he cannot blame anyone but himself for how it turned out for him.
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