‘Rico’
Graduate of Batch 1 of the Diocese of Manila’s Sanlakbay program

“Dati kami po ang pasaway dito sa barangay namin. Hinahabol kami ng mga barangay tanod, ngayon po kami na nanghahabol,” Rico* proudly says.

Over 40 years old, the barangay tanod looks like he came straight out of an action movie. Hulking man with a shaved head, he carries the aura of a Fernando Poe, Jr. movie henchman—like he could crush you in seconds if he wanted to.

But when he tells the story of how he powered through his drug addiction, his eyes glaze.

Before becoming a peace and order enforcer in their neighborhood, Rico had been one of the very troublemakers he now watches over. He had started using shabu (methamphetamine) with friends in high school and ended up carrying what was meant to be a teenage pastime onto adulthood.

While he describes his past self as an “occasional” user, drugs, coupled with gambling became his life. He spent his money and time on debts and vices, at the expense of his wife and children.

When his wife found out he had used his salary on drugs instead of savings, she left him.  Even his two children were wary of Rico, pushed away by his flaring temper.

“Naging makasarili ako. Wala akong inisip kung hindi sarili ko,” he recalls.

Overcoming fears

After several failed attempts to curb his drug addiction on his own, his wife and mother finally asked him to turn himself in to barangay authorities. Finally, two decades after he first started using drugs, Rico decided: he needed help to change for his family.

“Napaiyak na lang po agad… Di po ako nagdalawang isip. Sinuko ko sarili ko [Translation: I cried… I didn’t hesitate. I turned myself in.],” Rico recalls of his decision to turn himself in.

There was just one hitch in Rico’s plan: he was scared of the police.

With the administration’s anti-drug campaign kicking in, the local government had started rounding up names of drug users who wanted surrender.

Turning himself in meant giving up data on his life, from getting his mugshot taken to having his fingerprints recorded by the government. It also meant putting himself in the hands of local authorities—the same people who had gone after him and his friends before.

To Rico, this was a small price to pay for the future of his family. “Unti unti rin siyang mawawala sayo yung takot, lalo kung lagi kang umaattend tapos iniisip mo yung pamilya mo,” he says.

From troublemaker to barangay tanod

He never would have guessed that less than a year after his rehabilitation, he’d be working with these same people he had feared.

In a complete reversal of roles, Rico now helps keep order and safety within their community.

After entering and graduating from the Diocese of Manila’s Sanlakbay community rehabilitation program, he and some of his fellow graduates now work with the barangay to ensure peace and order in their neighborhood.

“Ito pong area naming, iniingatan po naming dito maam… Importante po kasi yan, talagang bantay sarado kami sa barangay,” Rico says.

As a major turning point in his life, it’s a duty he takes the duty seriously. But beyond apprehending delinquents, he’s more bent on ensuring drug users like him get the help they need to get their life back on track.

He says he and his fellow graduates hope to invite at least one person each to join the program.

“Kilala naman po nila kung ano ako noon, kung sino ako noon. Sabi nga nila ‘Laki ng pinagbago mo,” Sabi ko, ‘Kayang kaya niyo rin to’”

He says he never thought he would change, but with the support of the community and his loved ones, he’s working on regaining the trust and respect of his peers.

“Nung nasa drugs pa ako, halos lahat nawala eh. Lahat ng tiwala, lahat ng respeto,” he recalls. “Gusto kong bawiin yung tiwala nila na nawala… Yun yung gusto ko talagang ibalik sa lahat ng tao.”             

* The interviewee’s name has been changed to protect his privacy.