Kara David revisits interviewees affected by drugs, child labor for I-Witness' 20th anniversary

For the 20th anniversary episode of I-Witness, Kapuso broadcast journalist Kara David looked back at the stories of three interviewees whose lives were affected by drugs and child labor in their youth.

In 2007, David interviewed three-year old child Ekang who grew with a father who was a snatcher, a mother who was a drug pusher, and a grandmother who worked as a pimp.

Twelve years later, David searched for Ekang at a resettlement site outside Manila.

Ekang was now a high school student, and she admitted that a lot of things had changed when her family moved to the resettlement area. But she harbored some bitterness when she talked about her mother, who passed away because of a gunshot wound.

David told Ekang that when the I-Witness team first interviewed Ekang and her family, her mom said that all she wanted for Ekang was for her to finish her studies.

"Makapatapos ka ng pag-aaral para may kinabukasan ka," said Ekang's mother had said in 2007.

As though to assure her mother's spirit, Ekang said, "huwag siyang mag-alaala sa amin kasi hindi kami gagaya sa kanila. Mag-aaral kaming mabuti." 

Meanwhile, David visited brothers Jimmy and Jonel, child laborers involved in 'pagbabakod' or compressor mining, who were interviewed by David on I-Witness 20 years ago.

She looked for the brothers in their hometown, and found out that life was the same for them, even if many people pitched in to help their family rise out of poverty.

After Jonel's story was aired, several people offered to help him study in high school.

And while he did take on the generous offers, Jonel was only able to complete two years of high school; a bullying incident discouraged him from pursuing further studies.

According to the documentary, Jonel earned P168 a day from compressor mining, and he was saving his earnings for a small business.

He underscored the value of education and wished for his children to finish school.

Meanwhile, another pair of brothers who started working at a very young age, were featured in I-Witness in 2014.

Charlie and Edrian harvested honey from bees in dangerous conditions, and they did this for a living.

David recently visited the pair in their hometown in Abra to see how they were faring.

After five years, Charlie graduated in the course BS Criminology, and Edrian remained steadfast in his dream to become a seaman so that "he could see the ocean."

Asked about his advice to children, Charlie said that they should keep chasing their dreams.

"Huwag lang po sila tumigil sa pangarap nila. Magtiyaga lang sila saka magtiis kasi konting panahon lang naman ang pagtitiis. Ako po kasi, ilan taon lang naman po ang sinakripisyo para marating sa ganitong buhay," he said. — Angelica Y. Yang/LA, GMA News