A hooligan becoming a law enforcer, specifically a jail officer, is quite unthinkable, right? Well, that’s exactly how the journey of Venerando “Andot” Ebarita Jr. unfolded, who, from being a young person in conflict with the law, eventually became one of the respected prison officers of our country’s Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
And it was his inspiring story, which reminds us of the value of second chances and forgiving oneself, that was featured in the season finale episode of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” headlined by celebrated former child star Zaijian Jaranilla, who was chosen to portray him.
Titled “Habal-Habal,” the narration commenced with Andot and his partner-in-crime in a stealing spree while riding a motorcycle. Then it cut to Andot being spanked and reprimanded by his father, Benny (Dominic Ochoa), after he was caught taking part in kara krus, or street gambling. Andot argued that he was only compelled to do so in order for him to buy at least one new clothes. Since there were many of them in the family, not to mention that both of his parents were not earning enough then, it seemed to be impossible for them to give the wants and even the needs of Andot and his siblings.
Despite being just reminded by his mother, Rebecca (Rosanna Roces), that their father was only disciplining him for his own good, Andot still fell into his friends’ bad influence. Aside from teaching him how to gamble, drink alcohol, and play billiards, they also ingrained into his mind that he must not let his father control his life since he’s already a grown-up. His parents soon learned about his shenanigans, which led to a heated altercation between Andot and Benny, in which Andot boastfully told his parents that he could already stand up on his own and that they could already forget that he is their son.
True to his word, Andot indeed departed from their home and went on to live with his friends, as well as worked as a habal-habal driver in order to prove to his parents that he could indeed live on his own. Rebecca tried to convince him to go home but he was so stonehearted and drove her away.
He then met a fellow habal-habal driver (Renshi de Guzman) who introduced him to an illegal side hustle—riding-in-tandem—that absolutely helped him and the other riders to earn more. Tempted to the promise of higher income, Andot went on to express his interest to try it although he was hesitant at first, especially when he was handed a gun that he would use to scare—and even kill—whoever would try to fight them.
With Andot as the driver and his partner the snatcher, they were successful in their initial attempts. Thus, Andot was able to buy new clothes for himself and his siblings, as well as to give quite a huge amount of money to his parents. Unfortunately, they failed in their last operation as the supposed snatching only resulted in the murder of their victim, Amir (Ivan Carapiet), a 20-year-old Iranian national studying here in the Philippines and was already on his last year—after Andot fatally shot him on the chest.
Scared that the police would find out that he was the suspect, Andot sought refuge in the house of his relative, Ferdie (Junjun Quintana). However, little did he know that the owner of the motorcycle they used already pointed him to the authorities, so cops went to their house to look for him but it was his older brother Rey (Ian Pangilinan), with whom he seemed to be the closest, who they arrested after he covered up for him. This prompted the already paranoid Andot to surrender himself, for he was terribly hounded by his conscience.
His parents were, of course, mad and disappointed at him for what he did, telling him that it was not only Amir’s physical body that he killed but also his and his loved ones’ dreams and future.
Since he was still a minor, he was brought to the youth detention facility along with other young people in conflict with the law. As a newcomer, he experienced getting bullied by his fellow detainees and even got involved in a quarrel, in which he angrily declared that he was there since he’s a murderer. Andot then related that he opted to plead guilty not because he was remorseful to what he did but he just wanted to escape the possibility of him getting jailed as soon as he reached the legal age of 18.
He was transferred to a youth center for his rehabilitation, where he attempted to escape along with other detainees. However, he suddenly decided to back out at the last minute because he was reminded by his parents’ words. And true enough, Benny and Rebecca were angry and dismayed at him upon learning what he did, which once again resulted in a scorching spat between Andot and Benny.
One day, the ghost of Amir seemed to have haunted Andot inside the facility, which apparently served as his wake-up call to realize that his father had been right all along. This was further fortified by the sincere pep talk he had with one of the social workers, which helped further encourage him to have a change of heart and be finally remorseful of the crime he committed.
Despite his initial qualms on visiting Andot again in the facility for his birthday celebration that Rebecca and their other children had prepared for following their fight, Benny still came and made amends with his son. This further encouraged her to live a renewed life, especially when the facility he was at then helped him to enroll in college. He was chosen to be one of the scholars, yet he had no choice but to take up Criminology since it was the only available course during that time even though he was hesitant at first.
He was later on released from the facility but the happiness he felt was not full since he was still doubtful if was truly deserving of all the great things that were happening in his life at the time. Since he still had fees to pay at school and other expenses despite being a scholar, Andot had to go back to doing habal-habal.
Following his heart-to-heart conversation with his father, who reminded him that forgiving oneself doesn’t mean forgetting the mistake he committed but exerting efforts to do what’s right and to correct his life.
In his attempt to attain closure, Andot went to the crime scene one night, recounted the incident, and imagined himself coming face-to-face with Amir and the different ending that could have happened. Andot then uttered, “Hindi ko kakalimutan, pangako.”
Despite having hesitations at first, it seemed that being a law enforcer is really the path that was meant for him in spite of being a lawbreaker at some point in his life. Andot has been a jail officer for seven years already at the BJMP and has been relating his inspiring journey to the prisoners. He may not have spoken nor met yet the family of Amir to personally apologize for what he had done in the past but he hopes that choosing to take the right path and change his ways for the better were enough for now.
Takeaways from the story
What a better way to mark the season finale of “MMK” than an episode starring Zaijian Jaranilla, Dominic Ochoa, and Rosanna Roces, right? It has been years since the last time that we’d seen the three of them in an episode of the long-running drama anthology, thus many surely got excited to see them again unleash their dramatic chops.
Zaijian may only be in his early 20s yet—whether you believe it or not—he has already appeared in 21 episodes throughout “MMK’s” prolific and remarkable 23 seasons. And after seeing his impressive performances in film and television in recent years, many were arguably thrilled to see him again on the show. This also marks his reunion with Dominic, whom he got to work with in the 2009 classic inspirational drama series “May Bukas Pa,” as well as his first time sharing the screen with Rosanna, who both compelled us with their dramatic skills as the parents of Andot.
Despite their limited exposures, the supporting cast were still able to steal some of the scenes with their impressive performances.
Another masterpiece from screenwriter Akeem Datol Del Rosario and Director Raz Dela Torre, “Youth In Chains” is indeed a reminder for us not to take the second chances bestowed upon us for granted because not everyone is lucky enough to be given so. Andot may have almost lost the second chance given to him by his parents, the authorities, and life in general, but he was able to get back on track and pursue a linear path before it became already too late. And that is thanks to all the people who had never given up on him and relentlessly encouraged him to have a change of heart and life, which include his parents and the social workers in the youth centers.
We were also reminded by MMK host Charo Santos by the end of the episode that true freedom doesn’t come from running away, it comes from taking responsibility, learning to forgive ourselves, and finding the courage to begin again.
As “MMK” announced that the “Habal-Habal” episode is already its season finale salvo, there are avid viewers who surely wish that it would return soon!