It's The Freeman's 87th year today!

Great newspapers have come and gone in this country. Even today new newspapers rise up but eventually disappear from the horizon. It's no joke to keep a newspaper afloat for such a long time. Today, The Freeman celebrates its 87th anniversary and we take pride that The Freeman has lasted as long as it has. More so that it is now a part of the Star Group of Companies, the nation's leading newspaper publishers that brings you the Philippine Star, which recently bagged the Newspaper of the Year Award!

I joined the Freeman 19 years ago when The Freeman editor Juanito "Nito" Jabat asked me to write a column. When I jumped in, some friends ridiculed me, saying that I just joined a "sinking ship". Well, by month's end, I will be celebrating my 20 years as a journalist, where I started as a correspondent with the Philippine Star. Next year, I would be celebrating my 20 years as a columnist with The Freeman and yes, The Freeman is still around!

Let me say it here that 19 years ago, I didn't join a sinking ship; rather, its officers mistakenly thought that she would sink if they abandoned her. But the new captain, Nito Jabat kept her afloat. Today, she sails proudly, celebrating her 87th birthday with strength and vigor. Kudos to The Freeman, to Sir Dodong Gullas, Pres. Miquel Belmonte and The Freeman management and editorial staff! May you have more years to celebrate with The Freeman!

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Yesterday morning, I drove up the hills of Kalunasan to accept the invitation of Byron F. Garcia who celebrated his 46th birthday by proudly presenting some 1,556 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) for a Physical Fitness Demonstration. Honestly, I went there a skeptic; after all, the last time I went to jail... err, please don't get me wrong...the last time I visited a jail was at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) which made a lasting impression that jails in this country are as hopeless as the entire Philippine government!

When I got to CPDRC, I was completely taken aback. I got a ringside seat to view their new electronic locking system, complete with tv cameras monitoring (I also got a peek at their control room) the inmate's every move. When Gov. Gwen Garcia arrived, she placed her finger into the computerized ID system and viola!, the prison gates opened for the guests. As we went inside, we saw 1,556 inmates all wearing bright orange uniforms at the quadrangle.

After the usual welcome ceremonies, Byron opened the program and the inmates gave him a surprise 'happy birthday' song and one famous Chinese inmate also sang solo a birthday song in Chinese. That famous inmate turned out to be Mr. Calvin Tan, the famous drug lord who was arrested in Hong Kong and brought to Cebu for his role in that huge shabu lab near the Fernan Bridge. It was the first time I saw Mr. Tan. He did not only sing, he also gave a demonstration of his kung fu (kata) abilities. He gave us the message not to mess with him, otherwise... hai!

During their physical fitness exercise, the inmates showed remarkable precision as if they've been doing this for years! Later, they had a military type parade march and wowed the guests into believing that they could march even better than our soldiers in a military camp. Choreographer Vince Rosales made sure that their cadence was perfect and well-timed to the popular songs of the Village People, "In the Navy" and "YMCA."

In his message, Byron addressed the inmates in Bisaya, "Mga kaigsoonan kong mga bilanggo" which gave us an idea of his brotherly approach to the inmates inside the CPDRC. Just think that before they moved to this new site the inmates (thanks to their mayores) staged a sit-down strike, something that Gov. Gwen made sure that she mentioned in her speech. Indeed, she just recently took over the Governor's office and this was her baptism of fire. Standing there watching those inmates do their exercise, it is hard to imagine that just a year and a half ago, they were once upon a time so unruly and so undisciplined!

After her message, the Governor went down and mingled with the inmates, a very dangerous security breach, but a huge PR success as trust seems to be the hallmark of her administration. It seems that the success stories of Gov. Gwen isn't only in keeping the Province of Cebu awash with assets or cash but that through her brother Byron, they have introduced a Culture of Reform and gave a new hope to the word 'Rehabilitation' in our jails, something that the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) ought to seriously emulate! So now we saw the reforms that Gov. Gwen did at the CPDRC. Now it's time for our fiscals and our courts to speed up the cases so that this jail would never be overbooked!

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