GAHAMAN SA PERA SI KAPITAN!

October in a small town in Ilocos.  Delfin Ramos Jr. is waking up.  or better known as Junjun. The same view every day, rice fields, mud, and the smell of the buffalo that was his partner in tilling the land. At the age of 23, he has not yet set foot in college. His life revolves around farming, come rain or shine.
And the hope that one day, he and his family will also be able to get out. One afternoon while herding buffalo in a thick mud patch at the edge of a rice field, something caught his attention. Something sparkling under the blazing sun. He came over and pulled the weeds.   What   he found was a thick ring with a large stone in the center and seemed to be no ordinary piece of jewelry .
Although covered in mud, the brilliance of its decoration stands out. He immediately put it in his pocket and took it home.  In their shack, he took it out and showed it to the father, Delfin Ramos Sr. They looked at it carefully.  The hole was examined and each carving was observed. But due to lack of knowledge, they have no idea whether the ring is real or just a fake ornament.

Delfin decided to take it to the barangay hall the next day. There they sought advice and assistance from Captain Francisco Medel.  A long-time barangay leader known in his area for his influence. Smart and experienced in many things. This is also a close friend of Delfine’s, so they didn’t hesitate to approach him.
Inside the captain’s office, he examined the ring.   He said he knew a jeweler in town who was better at evaluating and pricing real jewelry. He promised to have it tested and return the results within a few weeks. Following this, he put the ring away in the drawer, closed it, and said he would help them find out its true value so they had nothing to worry about.
When the father and son returned home, they brought with them nervousness but even more hope.   It’s no joke if the ring is a real diamond.  This was an opportunity that seemed to be granted by heaven to fulfill their long-held dreams and allow his youngest sibling to continue their education and his mother to stop doing laundry, and they could buy their own land and build a better home.
As the tricycle traveled along the grassy road back to their sitio, Junjun silently stared at his palms, which had been injured several times by planting. He hoped that their lives would take a new direction. However, the one week promised by the captain has passed.  But I still have n’t received a message from him to confirm if the jewelry is correct and how much it costs.
They thought it might just be taking too long to review or find a buyer. But by the fourth week, in the middle of rice planting, Junjun could no longer contain his nervousness. He noticed that his father’s chest tightness was becoming more frequent, which is why they needed money more during those times. With the help of a bayao with a motorcycle, they went to the barangay hall to personally meet and ask questions of the captain.
Upon their arrival, a cold voice greeted them.  a room inside the Barangay Hall.  Captain Medel calmly but rudely said that he had already examined the ring and that it was fake.   It’s just a worthless imitation .  He also said he had it tested by not only one jeweler but that he only got the same result. Dfin sighed.
Junjo Nam is trying to understand the situation even though he doesn’t feel good about what he heard. Even though they had no experience in these kinds of conversations, there was something in the captain’s tone that they didn’t seem to understand. There was a forced aversion to the view and no evidence was presented for the analysis.
When they asked for the ring back, even if it was just to be said, the captain’s attitude changed. He said he left it at the Jeweler’s and couldn’t get it back. so they tried to ask which jewelry shop it was inspected at.  But no details were reportedly provided. It was allegedly brought by an acquaintance of the captain, who did not mention who it was.
The father and son returned home like wet paper while it was raining.   There is no dolphin.  Jonjo, on the other hand, seemed to have lost his appetite. They entrusted the ring to someone they had known for a long time.  And now that it’s said to be gone , they don’t have the courage to argue any further. In the following days, their lives returned to normal.
Junjun went back to herding buffalo while Delfin went back to plowing. But no matter how hard they try to forget the incident, the pain keeps coming back and a question keeps coming back. Why does what the captain said seem untrue ? Yet they could do nothing. How will they know the truth if they no longer hold the ring that once gave them hope? By mid-February 2013, there were new rumors in the barangay.
On the edge of the market, people notice sudden excavation in a lot near what was previously vacant land. Trucks of sand and cement arrived.  Sometimes a black SUV also passes by .  Brand new, with an unregistered license plate . At first, no one paid much attention. But when the first floor of the house was completed , it became clear for whom the house was being built.
News spread that the project was allegedly owned by Captain Medell.   The contractor said he was the captain’s man .  who introduced himself as the owner. Apart from this, Kapitan also released a new vehicle.  A new pickup truck that he often parks at the Barangay Hall. One afternoon while Junjun was hanging on the back of a tricycle from town, he caught a glimpse of the house.
Inside him, it felt like a surge of anger and frustration had exploded. So the last moments they spent talking to the captain gradually became more and more confusing.  His answers were cold, he avoided looking away, and now he has a new house, a new car, and a new lifestyle. Delfin did not give in to suspicion.
For him, it might be true that the  captain had won the lottery jackpot, as was rumored in their area. The old man insisted that he had great trust in the captain, but in the back of his mind there was a fear that if the captain’s wealth really came from the ring they had entrusted to him, they probably wouldn’t have a fight either. They are held by ordinary citizens only while the captain is in charge of those who are able and in position.
But Junjun doesn’t think that way. For him, if you’re in the right, you should fight for it. As Captain Medell’s house continues to grow , Junjun becomes increasingly restless. Every day he witnesses the structure gradually being completed is like a reminder of their absence. Each pillar of the mansion seemed to rise from the shine of the ring he had once dug out of the mud.
One morning, Junjon tried to find help.  Even though he didn’t graduate, the child is undeniably smart. Now he made sure that whoever he approached was truly trustworthy and would not take advantage of their weakness. So he went to the public attorney’s office where he met Attorney Lira Salvador, a lawyer who has long fought for the rights of the poor.
There, Junjun gathered his courage in the small office.  He bravely recounted everything from the discovery of the ring to Captain Medel’s claim to it. Attorney Lira listened silently. Every detail was examined and it was gently explained that solid evidence was needed before a case could be filed. Suspicion is not enough.
We need a witness and we need proof.   A  person came back to Junjun’s mind.  Kagawad Money was right there at the Barangay Hall the day they gave the ring to the captain. The next day, he approached her.  At first, the councilor hesitated, obviously apprehensive. But after seeing Junjun’s determination , he gradually became open to cooperation.
He admitted that he was a witness that day to how the father and son handed over the ring and how the captain put it in his drawer. And that’s not all.  Councilman Manny released a photo taken on his cellphone.  This was taken at a gathering at the captain’s house. On the side of the picture, the captain can be seen wearing a piece of jewelry.
The exact ring that Junjun brought.  That’s not just speculation.  That is concrete evidence that will support Junjun’s story . He also said that the captain had been going back and forth to town for several weeks to a jeweler he had known for a long time.   It is said that he had the ring that the bride was carrying examined here.
In the face of evidence and testimony, Attorney Lira assisted Junjun in processing the case.  He filed an Affidavit complaint against Captain Medel for the case of qualified death and estafa. The suspicions turned into a formal complaint due to the stand taken by a witness. When the captain received the complaint, he was surprised, but he wasn’t surprised anymore because he and Kagawad Money had been at odds for a long time.
From the very beginning, he vehemently denied the accusation.  Although he was hesitant, he promised to deal with the complaint.   A few days later, Delfin and Jonjun received news that the captain allegedly tried to bribe Kagawad Money to reverse his statements. However, the councilor did not show off for the money and stood by the Ramos family because that was the right thing to do.
March 24. Junjun’s family and the captain first appeared before the Regional Trial Court. The lawyer began the opening of the case by telling Jonjun’s story. The ring found in the release was the unreturned jewelry and the captain’s assets that were not commensurate with his salary as a barangay official. As Kagawad Money recounted what he saw the day the father and son handed the ring to the captain, the air inside the court seemed to become heavy.
He detailed how he saw the captain put it in a drawer and how, a few months later, construction of a new house began with him. He also correctly presented a photo taken from an occasion where a ring was clearly visible on the captain’s hand, which the  complainants immediately recognized. Following this, the prosecution presented the jeweler who allegedly received the ring from the captain.
Under oath, he admitted that he bought the ring for 7 million. Based on the appraisal of a renowned gemologist in Manila.   The deceased left it at the shop for consignment and after a month, the captain received cash after selling the jewelry to a jewelry collector from Tarlac. The jeweler earned a 2% commission.
Based on their agreement, the total amount the captain took home will reach more than Php6.8 million. When asked if he knew the ring did not belong to the captain, he vehemently denied it. He said it was only introduced as a jewelry mine from a tin.  And he didn’t even ask about its origin.
He also said he never thought he would be part of a case. Meanwhile, Captain Medel is trying to deny the accusation. He repeatedly insisted that he did not receive a ring from his father and mother and that the accusation was baseless.  But in the face of the evidence presented in the form of photographs, witness statements, sales receipts, and records from Jewel, it seems that his defense is gradually weakening.
On the defense side, he only argues for technicality and procedural errors . Hearings were held several times , and the  court went through thorough deliberations. On the last day of the hearing, the judge announced the decision. Based on all the evidence and witness statements, the court proved that qualified death and estafa occurred.
The ring clearly does not belong to him and his intention to hide the value and benefit from it is a clear form of exploitation. Captain Medel was sentenced to one year in prison with an order to return the amount received from the sale of the ring as well as the properties acquired from it. After the court’s decision, the justice process gradually moved forward .
In favor of the Ramos family and by virtue of the Civil for Feature Order, the properties acquired by Captain Medel from the proceeds of the sale of the ring were subjected to public auction. The house in town, the pickup truck, even the big bike.  All of this was included in the estimate of the total amount to return what was rightfully theirs.
From the original amount of seven million, taxes, administrative fees, and legal costs were deducted. In the end, six million was remitted back to Junjun and Mang Delfin.   The father and son never expected such a large sum of money to come to them . a paradox that began in the mud of the rice field and ended in the courtroom.
For the first time, Delfine no longer had to borrow seeds to plant. They bought their own land with the money.  There they built a simple but spacious house that they could call their own. As a token of gratitude,  the family gave Php2,000 to Kagawad Money for his great help in getting them justice. [Music] Meanwhile, Junjun’s youngest brother was able to continue his studies and his mother stopped doing laundry to help her husband Delfin grow their farm, which they did not abandon even after they had a large fortune.
Junjun, who was previously only skilled in plowing and plowing, enrolled in a vocational course in town. Using part of the money, he also started a small fertilizer and seed store.  A way to give back to the community and help fellow farmers. Meanwhile, the former influential captain remains detained in the Ilocos provincial jail.
His previous influence is gone. It remains only in the memories of the townspeople. Not the good things he did, but the story of his greed and taking advantage of the weakness of the people he was supposed to help. In the end, Junjun and Mang Delfin recalled the long process they went through. The ring that was once claimed from them seemed like a blessing that was almost lost but was returned because of fighting and standing up for what was right.