ON DRUGS, PEN, AND INK
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
The Fourth Estate newspaper,
March-April 1998, page 8, 11-12
When I was young, my mother always told me that cleanliness is next to godliness. She always said, most especially in her sermons, that persons with twisted minds were mostly the cause of crimes in our society. Twisted mind is the effect of dirty surroundings. So she always emphasized that I should always maintain cleanliness in my room, in our activities and at work places.
Most of the time, I do not follow her advice. Pressured by school and family problems, I turned to my peers for support and advices. I cannot remember when I began taking drugs, such as marijuana, shabu and syrup as a form of rebellion, not only to my family, but most especially to myself. I don't want to have feelings of frustrations. For me, it’s better to lose money in chess tourneys and other gambling vices. It’s better to fail in examinations than to feel disappointment. It’s better to crack my brains in mathematical analysis, physics and solving puzzles and case problems than to feel frustrations.
I am not really the quiet type, although some people think I am. But I'm the rebel type in the sense that I don't think I'm like everybody else. I try to be an individual. I thought people want you to be crazy and be miserable, just like them. They don't want heroes. What they want is to see you fall. That's probably why I started taking drugs to rebel for my failure to be what I want to be. That was some years back; when I thought the world is just a happy-go-lucky place.
Today, I feel I became mature than before. Do I? I now realize that frustrations and failures are part of life. Becoming a journalist gave me a better outlook in life. I find direction. As I deliberate my conscience and myself, I realize that I have a direct responsibility to the people I serve. I can use my pen as a form of activism. As a form to struggle for social progress and social justice. As journalists, we have an unwritten contract to give valuable news, information, insights and analysis of certain issues affecting our lives and our community. As journalists, we have the mandate to be the guardians of public welfare and carriers of information. That's how crucial our role is.
Looking back to my mother's advice and relating it to my experiences, I think I had enough. The effect of drugs to my biological metabolism has somehow affected my decisions, my emotions and attitude towards others. It also affected much my relationship with my family, my former girlfriends, my relatives, my friends, and my classmates. It almost destroyed my future. Taking drugs somehow made me realize that its time to renew myself. But I know it’s hard to change. I still feel its chemical contents. I know I'm not alone in this experience. There are many of us. Some were in jail. Others were in death row, while others were now buries six-feet under the ground. Others are still struggling and fighting for a better future, like me. While some are perhaps lucky enough than us.
I have to be true to myself, to my friends, to my family, and to my comrades. This is my biggest challenge: To renew myself for a better tomorrow, for my future, my family and the next generation. I thank some of my friends and comrades for the understanding and support they have given me. That's something I cannot forget.
From a prestigious campus publication to having a media publication as its publisher and editor-in-chief, I struggle hard enough to be a journalist, to be a hardhitting columnist, to be a crusader. This is the time I'm waiting for: to help eradicate or minimize crimes by exposing drug pushers and druglords, and bring them to the halls of justice. I believe I can contribute even a little, not just as a smalltime writer, but as a journalist. I believe that "the pen is always mightier than the sword" inspite of the number of journalists murdered in the international community. Anyway, I do not expect my readers will admire me for my writings. I expect them to hate me for my guts in exposing truth. Putting names in the gallows and becoming a pain in the neck of the corrupt are my stuff. I decided that I will use my pen as a mighty weapon against this menace. I know I'm not alone in this lonely crusade. In this, I commit myself: to help destroy these drug rings.
According to certain news reports, most people who commit crimes were under the influence of drugs. Drug-related cases are rampant, considering that there were certain news items telling us that most of the suspects in murder and rape cases were drug users. The drug business is not just a business of "small entrepreneurs". Organized crime syndicates were behind these ordeals.
To give you some inside information about organized groups, our country became the transshipment point for international drug syndicates, such as Bamboo Gang and the 14K Group. Other organized groups are the Italian Mafia, Chinese Triad, Japanese Yakuza and the Filipino Kuratong Baleleng. It’s very hard to fight organized crime groups like them because of their system of internal security and the development of trustworthy contacts in the government and military bureaucracy, particularly those who are in law enforcement. Others claim that some officers from the military and polis were involved as part of their fund raising for the coming national and local elections. As these criminal organizations flourish, we can expect corruption among government officials to protect their personal interest.
What these organized crime groups want is power and money. What differ them from some law-abiding organizations with the same objective are that the laws and regulations they obey, the ethical and moral standards they use and the procedures they employ are private and secret enough. They devise it themselves, change them according to situations and these were summarily and invisibly administered.
Organized crime is conducted like a business. Profit is its goal. Its means to that end is to destroy the competition. Both the legitimate business (the capitalists) and organized crimes seek freedom from government meddling by giving sums of money to persons in key positions. Some of the key figures in the government and in the military hierarchy were in the payroll of organized crime groups.
Drug lords and members of drug rings were not just mere gangsters who use violence. They were now in a full-scale business with nationwide and international network. Most of them are businessmen and key political figures. So, how can we destroy these crime syndicates if those who ought to protect the citizens were the ones who destroy the future of these people?
The drug problem that confronts our society today requires careful study involving all sectors. It is no longer sufficient that we leave these problems to the law enforcers alone, but we need a holistic approach involving, not only the police or the government, but also the citizens. Each of us must play a vigilant role. This campaign needs extra courage to be committed (not "kumitid", "kumitid ang utak dahil sa drugs").
Hey, you. Yes, you! I need your help. Anyway, think this over. It’s a tough job for tough guys like us. You may help in minimizing this menace. Some maybe courageous enough to fight the system. Some might be silent enough because of fear. But as Mark Twain said, "Courage doesn't mean the absence of fear, but resistance to fear, mastery of fear." If only people and citizens will cooperate and will help solve this menace, our environment will be cleaned from twisted minds. We will achieve what we are longing for: peace of mind. If you want to help, you may give some confidential information on people you might think are drug pushers or those who are involve in the drug trade.
Crusading journalists like us have an unwritten principle that people who gave valuable information to us with utmost confidence should be protected. No wonder many of our comrades-in-profession were killed because of this principle. We are ready to be killed than to tell them our confidential sources of information.
Don't be convinced that I'll be kind and friendly enough in my writings. But as I have said, I may become a pain in their neck. As of now, I'm working hard enough and practicing journalism religiously hoping that someday, I will be having my own hardhitting column in a national daily. If this happens, I am proud to challenge these criminals, "People, not profit and drugs!" "Stop your criminal activities. Or else..."
Justice to the people who became victims of illegal drugs! Justice to all who died because of drugs! No mercy to all drug pushers! No mercy to all capitalists’ druglords!
When I was young, my mother always told me that cleanliness is next to godliness. She always said, most especially in her never-ending sermons, that rampant crimes which occurred in our society were resulted from twisted minds. And twisted mind is the effect of dirty surroundings. She's right. We should clean our environment from polluted and twisted minds. We should be vigilant, radical and militant in our crusade against illegal drugs.
Yes, there's hope. Let's help each other now. Or else, you or your dear ones might be the next victim. Don't wait. Act now.
by Gregorio V. Bituin Jr.
The Fourth Estate newspaper,
March-April 1998, page 8, 11-12
When I was young, my mother always told me that cleanliness is next to godliness. She always said, most especially in her sermons, that persons with twisted minds were mostly the cause of crimes in our society. Twisted mind is the effect of dirty surroundings. So she always emphasized that I should always maintain cleanliness in my room, in our activities and at work places.
Most of the time, I do not follow her advice. Pressured by school and family problems, I turned to my peers for support and advices. I cannot remember when I began taking drugs, such as marijuana, shabu and syrup as a form of rebellion, not only to my family, but most especially to myself. I don't want to have feelings of frustrations. For me, it’s better to lose money in chess tourneys and other gambling vices. It’s better to fail in examinations than to feel disappointment. It’s better to crack my brains in mathematical analysis, physics and solving puzzles and case problems than to feel frustrations.
I am not really the quiet type, although some people think I am. But I'm the rebel type in the sense that I don't think I'm like everybody else. I try to be an individual. I thought people want you to be crazy and be miserable, just like them. They don't want heroes. What they want is to see you fall. That's probably why I started taking drugs to rebel for my failure to be what I want to be. That was some years back; when I thought the world is just a happy-go-lucky place.
Today, I feel I became mature than before. Do I? I now realize that frustrations and failures are part of life. Becoming a journalist gave me a better outlook in life. I find direction. As I deliberate my conscience and myself, I realize that I have a direct responsibility to the people I serve. I can use my pen as a form of activism. As a form to struggle for social progress and social justice. As journalists, we have an unwritten contract to give valuable news, information, insights and analysis of certain issues affecting our lives and our community. As journalists, we have the mandate to be the guardians of public welfare and carriers of information. That's how crucial our role is.
Looking back to my mother's advice and relating it to my experiences, I think I had enough. The effect of drugs to my biological metabolism has somehow affected my decisions, my emotions and attitude towards others. It also affected much my relationship with my family, my former girlfriends, my relatives, my friends, and my classmates. It almost destroyed my future. Taking drugs somehow made me realize that its time to renew myself. But I know it’s hard to change. I still feel its chemical contents. I know I'm not alone in this experience. There are many of us. Some were in jail. Others were in death row, while others were now buries six-feet under the ground. Others are still struggling and fighting for a better future, like me. While some are perhaps lucky enough than us.
I have to be true to myself, to my friends, to my family, and to my comrades. This is my biggest challenge: To renew myself for a better tomorrow, for my future, my family and the next generation. I thank some of my friends and comrades for the understanding and support they have given me. That's something I cannot forget.
From a prestigious campus publication to having a media publication as its publisher and editor-in-chief, I struggle hard enough to be a journalist, to be a hardhitting columnist, to be a crusader. This is the time I'm waiting for: to help eradicate or minimize crimes by exposing drug pushers and druglords, and bring them to the halls of justice. I believe I can contribute even a little, not just as a smalltime writer, but as a journalist. I believe that "the pen is always mightier than the sword" inspite of the number of journalists murdered in the international community. Anyway, I do not expect my readers will admire me for my writings. I expect them to hate me for my guts in exposing truth. Putting names in the gallows and becoming a pain in the neck of the corrupt are my stuff. I decided that I will use my pen as a mighty weapon against this menace. I know I'm not alone in this lonely crusade. In this, I commit myself: to help destroy these drug rings.
According to certain news reports, most people who commit crimes were under the influence of drugs. Drug-related cases are rampant, considering that there were certain news items telling us that most of the suspects in murder and rape cases were drug users. The drug business is not just a business of "small entrepreneurs". Organized crime syndicates were behind these ordeals.
To give you some inside information about organized groups, our country became the transshipment point for international drug syndicates, such as Bamboo Gang and the 14K Group. Other organized groups are the Italian Mafia, Chinese Triad, Japanese Yakuza and the Filipino Kuratong Baleleng. It’s very hard to fight organized crime groups like them because of their system of internal security and the development of trustworthy contacts in the government and military bureaucracy, particularly those who are in law enforcement. Others claim that some officers from the military and polis were involved as part of their fund raising for the coming national and local elections. As these criminal organizations flourish, we can expect corruption among government officials to protect their personal interest.
What these organized crime groups want is power and money. What differ them from some law-abiding organizations with the same objective are that the laws and regulations they obey, the ethical and moral standards they use and the procedures they employ are private and secret enough. They devise it themselves, change them according to situations and these were summarily and invisibly administered.
Organized crime is conducted like a business. Profit is its goal. Its means to that end is to destroy the competition. Both the legitimate business (the capitalists) and organized crimes seek freedom from government meddling by giving sums of money to persons in key positions. Some of the key figures in the government and in the military hierarchy were in the payroll of organized crime groups.
Drug lords and members of drug rings were not just mere gangsters who use violence. They were now in a full-scale business with nationwide and international network. Most of them are businessmen and key political figures. So, how can we destroy these crime syndicates if those who ought to protect the citizens were the ones who destroy the future of these people?
The drug problem that confronts our society today requires careful study involving all sectors. It is no longer sufficient that we leave these problems to the law enforcers alone, but we need a holistic approach involving, not only the police or the government, but also the citizens. Each of us must play a vigilant role. This campaign needs extra courage to be committed (not "kumitid", "kumitid ang utak dahil sa drugs").
Hey, you. Yes, you! I need your help. Anyway, think this over. It’s a tough job for tough guys like us. You may help in minimizing this menace. Some maybe courageous enough to fight the system. Some might be silent enough because of fear. But as Mark Twain said, "Courage doesn't mean the absence of fear, but resistance to fear, mastery of fear." If only people and citizens will cooperate and will help solve this menace, our environment will be cleaned from twisted minds. We will achieve what we are longing for: peace of mind. If you want to help, you may give some confidential information on people you might think are drug pushers or those who are involve in the drug trade.
Crusading journalists like us have an unwritten principle that people who gave valuable information to us with utmost confidence should be protected. No wonder many of our comrades-in-profession were killed because of this principle. We are ready to be killed than to tell them our confidential sources of information.
Don't be convinced that I'll be kind and friendly enough in my writings. But as I have said, I may become a pain in their neck. As of now, I'm working hard enough and practicing journalism religiously hoping that someday, I will be having my own hardhitting column in a national daily. If this happens, I am proud to challenge these criminals, "People, not profit and drugs!" "Stop your criminal activities. Or else..."
Justice to the people who became victims of illegal drugs! Justice to all who died because of drugs! No mercy to all drug pushers! No mercy to all capitalists’ druglords!
When I was young, my mother always told me that cleanliness is next to godliness. She always said, most especially in her never-ending sermons, that rampant crimes which occurred in our society were resulted from twisted minds. And twisted mind is the effect of dirty surroundings. She's right. We should clean our environment from polluted and twisted minds. We should be vigilant, radical and militant in our crusade against illegal drugs.
Yes, there's hope. Let's help each other now. Or else, you or your dear ones might be the next victim. Don't wait. Act now.
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