"I wonder if drug addicts here in Pagsanjan are back," asked controversial Fil-Briton filmmaker Jowee Morel ("Moma," "EC2Luv," "Mona Singapore Escort," "When a Gay Man Loves," "Latak," "HiStory," "Strictly Confidential," "Leona Calderon," "The Making of Quezon City," among other titles).
His concern started to show when he was attending to the planting of papaya trees, celery shrubs and pechay in his newly leased land in his barangay near the Pagsanjan river.
"The boys I was working with noticed that there were banana trees indiscriminately deeply barked if not totally cut off. Imagine, there are traces of foil torn off on the ground. Who would not think of people who are involved in drugs around our place.
"They must be back. I am worried about the peace and order situation in our area. My God! During the time of Duterte, these drug dependents took their respite. Now, look. The thing I didn't like about Duterte was his killing of drug addicts. He should just, at least, nabbed them or reformed them but not murder them," opined Jowee.
The comeback of drug menace in his place gave Morel goosebumps.
Just days ago, he recalled that his boy planters shooed away suspected young boys using drugs.
"The boys deliberately lit a small fire near a corner and when the blaze was flickering and billowing in smoke, these suspected drug users disbanded and ran away leaving some tin foils behind," said Jowee who is in town not to do films as yet but to get engaged in farming.
After his planting and growing vegetables for sale, he would go back to the United Kingdom to work nursing again.
Morel is a certified and registered nurse but he went into filmmaking twenty years ago because arts are also his passion.
Jowee is calling the attention of his colleague from the local movie industry, the returning mayor of Pagsanjan, ER Ejercito, to look after his barangay which is teeming again with drug addicts.
"Nang-iinis lang talaga sila pero (I know they are only pissing us off but) they must also be dealt with as well," said the Fil-Brit film artist.
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