Photo by PINGGOT ZULUETA

Their love story was something straight out of a Shakespearian drama—Romeo and Juliet, to be more exact. Rep. Vincent “Bingbong” Crisologo and Rita Dario were the children of two opposing political families in Ilocos Sur, and a friendship between them, much more a relationship, is frowned upon by both sides. But love and fate had other plans for them.

“When you’re young, you don’t know anything,” says Rita, beginning their love story. They first met in 1968, when all tobacco cooperatives in the region presented their muses in a beauty contest. Rita, who was only 16 at the time, joined the contest and Bingbong was one of the judges.

“Rita won for the Ilocos Sur district. She then represented the region in another beauty contest which was among the provinces naman. Being a bachelor at the time, I was the one who escorted her to the contest. Doon, niligawan ko siya,” remembers Bingbong.

He was so enamored by her beauty that he visited her every day. Rita even jokes, “Dinaya niya ang contest kaya ako ang nanalo!” But she was impressed by Bingbong’s persistence. “I didn’t even know that I said yes to him; he was suddenly telling me that I was his girlfriend,” she says.

The lovebirds were happy to be together, but familial and political relations stood in their way.  “We were afraid, of course, because I was not acceptable to her family.  Our families are both into politics, but her family was our opposition,” shares Bingbong.

The Montague and Capulet (Crisologo and Singson) clans were oblivious to their relationship. Eric Crisologo (common cousin of the couple) acted as their Friar Lawrence, and Bingbong got to court Rita at his house.

One day, the couple decided to elope. “It was a spur of the moment thing! We just wanted to be together,” says Bingbong. “We stayed in Manila, checked in a hotel and that’s the time I called my mom to say we have already eloped. They couldn’t do anything anymore because at the time, I was already financially independent and they knew I could take care of her.”

Their families eventually accepted their union and they got married on April 26, 1969. For their wedding, Bingbong even had the main highway of Ilocos Sur closed and there they had their reception. But wedded bliss was elusive to the couple, for shortly after their marriage, Bingbong was charged with double-life imprisonment because of arson.

“Mas mahaba pa nga ‘yung  imprisonment ko kaysa ‘yung samahan namin,” relates Bingbong. Rita adds, “His first year in prison was so hard for me because I was pregnant, but then after a year I got adjusted to the situation. I was young so sugod lang ako ng sugod.”

But despite the hardships the Crisologo family endured during Bingbong’s imprisonment, it was still a blessing in disguise for there, he met God. “I met the Lord inside the prison and He changed my life,” says Bingbong. The once hard-headed young man was transformed into a person whose goals and ideals became Christ-centered. After eight and a half years of imprisonment, Bingbong got out and he committed to serve the Lord.

“As soon as I got out of prison, people were inviting me to make a testimony on what God has done with my life,” he recalls. “So I shared my experiences with God to other people through the Catholic Life and Experience Seminar. We had a community called the Loved Flock Catholic Renewal Ministry. I went around the Philippines, Hong Kong, Germany, Spain, and USA and talked about how God renewed my life.”

Bingbong took another leap after 15 years of spreading God’s word. “I decided to serve the Lord through politics. I felt I could do more for the Lord if I was a politician,” he says. At first, he wasn’t successful. It was only until he ran as councilor for the 1st District of Quezon City in 1998 that he finally won.

“When I had my foot in, I really worked hard so I was re-elected councilor. I served two terms as councilor. Then, the congressman in my district Rey Calalay who was a good friend of mine passed away. He was on his 3rd term, so I did not finish my 3rd term as councilor and ran for congressman and I won,” shares Bingbong.

As the congressman of 1st District Quezon City, Bingbong has established over 27 barangay halls. He has donated complete sets of Speech Lab to five different schools, which enabled students to learn about proper pronunciation.

So immersed was he in his work that Bingbong sometimes had to sacrifice his time with his family. He and Rita are the proud parents of four boys: Chip, Alex, Onyx, and Edrix.  “My husband was incarcerated while my boys were growing up, and that’s probably the reason why matitino silang lahat. I told them not to give me any more headaches. Tama na si Daddy lang nagbibigay sa akin ng sakit sa ulo, sila huwag na!” jokes Rita.

Having been married for 40 years, the couple has lived a full and colorful life. It wasn’t always smooth-sailing, but they are nonetheless thankful for everything that has happened. “Maganda lahat ng nangyari sa buhay namin, and it’s because prayerful naman ako and so is Bingbong,” notes Rita. And asked if they were to live their lives the same way all over again, the couple agrees: “Why not?” Bingbong and Rita, who are the modern-day Romeo and Juliet, have found a happy ending.

On Parenting

He said: I love my children very much. But I am a politician and my time with family is very limited. I would often come home late at night, but of course I would still see to it that I have time for my family.

She said: As a parent, he is the spoiler and I am the disciplinarian. Anything he wants to tell his kids na hindi niya masabi kasi ayaw niya masaktan sila, it’s usually me who breaks the news to them. Ako ang bruha!

On Being Grandparents

He said: I play with my grandchildren all the time, especially before I leave the house. I never believed it before when people say that you will love your grandchildren more than you love your children. But now I do. When my sons were growing up, my wife and I were still very young. We had so many things to attend to. But now, we are already established so we have more time for our grandchildren, and we feel their company more.

She said: I help take care of our grandchildren if they have no yaya. Take Clay, for example. She basically grew up with me.

On Each Other

He said: My wife is very beautiful. She also came from a political family so everything about the two of us simply fit. When I ran for office, she supported me all the way. When I was in prison, she visited me every day and never left my side.

She said: It’s so hard to be married to a politician, but Bingbong is very charismatic and he’s also very nice. He’s a very good husband, father, and grandfather. When he was courting me, he was very persistent and makulit; talagang every day pinupuntahan niya ako.