For Puzakals team captain, Bilibid made his dreams come true

MANILA, Philippines - Some people think of prison as a nightmare, but for drug convict Archie June Bueno – the captain of the Puzakals football team – it is where his dreams came true.

Bueno, 42, used to be a happy-go-lucky scholar in one of country’s top universities during the ‘90s. Born in Iloilo, where football is a huge sport, Bueno easily got a scholarship and played for the University of Santo Tomas football team while studying as a commerce student in 1988.

To his parents, Bueno, who came from a simple family, was a few years away from becoming a professional. “But I wasted the opportunity and indulged in friends and vices. So got kicked out of school in 1993,” he said.

Since then, Bueno has neither seen nor talked to his parents. He sired a child and was later arrested for selling drugs. Bueno was found guilty and was sent to New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.

Like any other prisoner, he was prepared for a life behind bars but instead he “tried to look at the bright side. I saw that I can achieve my dreams here.”

Overachiever

Bueno graduated this year as the top student of NBP’s college education system, tied up with the University of Perpetual Help Dalta System in Las Piñas. He finished a four-year course in business administration and is of the 31 students who marched in yesterday’s commencement exercises.

Bueno received five medals for several awards like academic excellence and extra-curricular activities. While behind bars, he formed a football team called Puzakals, which recently gained recognition when they were pitted against the country’s football team Azkals and other foreign football players.

“I feel great! This is unbelievable. Who would have thought that someone’s dreams can come true in a place other people consider a nightmare?” Bueno said.

“But these are not for me. These (achievements) are for my two children, my fellow inmates, and my parents, whom I frustrated,” he said, adding he wanted to serve as inspiration to other prisoners who refuse to see the beauty of education.

“It is never too late to study. Education is for everyone and every age as long you want to learn,” he said.

The 52-year-old Roberto Romero echoed Bueno, as he happily chatted in his black toga, long sleeves, and necktie.

Romero, the oldest among the 31 graduates, finished the same course as Bueno. “I can’t believe I can still finish school at this age – and for free,” he said with a smile as he shook his head.

Romero was 48 when he was convicted of rape and was sent to NBP in 1998. He grabbed the chance to take up vocational course while in detention at the maximum security compound. Then he enrolled in the college program after he was transferred to the medium security compound two years later.

A high school graduate, Romero was forced to drop out of college due to lack of money. “Here (in NBP) I finished my studies for free,” he said.

Change

The inmates’ chance to get a diploma is their chance to show the world that they have changed, said Romero and Bueno. Romero also said he sincerely apologizes to the woman he has wronged.

“The reason why we had this graduation exercises out of prison – for the first time – is to show the public that the inmates are capable of going back to normal lives,” said NBP Superintendent Richard Schwarzkopf.

Clad in traditional graduation togas and formal clothes, the inmates, together with their loved ones, marched in the university’s auditorium in Las Piñas.

“This intends to boost their moral and show the public that they can trust them again. This will also prepare them for a successful career once they are released,” Schwarzkopf added.