Four o’clock in the morning. The boots of the SWAT Team thundered across the cement floor of the Maximum Security Compound of the San Isidro National Penitentiary. In front of them walked Warden Colonel Rogelio Aguirre, the new head of the Bureau of Corrections. He was known by the nickname “The Punisher”—strict, tough, and unapologetic.

Following the SWAT was the horde of media. Camera flashes here, live broadcasts there. This was “Oplan Bakal,” the surprise inspection that Aguirre had promised the public.

“Open that!” Aguirre shouted, pointing to a wall that looked like a storage room at the end of Building 14.

Using a sledgehammer, the operatives tore down the wall. Behind it was a secret door.

Opening the door, the reporters gasped.

This was not a cell. This was a Penthouse Suite.

The air conditioning was cold. There was a red carpet. In the middle, a Jacuzzi full of bubbles. To the side, a complete Recording Studio with expensive equipment. There was a wine bar stocked with imported liquor, and on the bed lay Don Cesar, the prison’s notorious “Drug Kingpin,” along with two female visitors.

“Don Cesar! Get down! Hands on your head!” the SWAT shouted.

Don Cesar didn’t move. He calmly puffed on his cigarette. “Warden Aguirre… your visitor is early. I wish you had called so I could have prepared coffee.”

Warden Aguirre faced the cameras. “Do you see this?! This is the pig system I inherited! While ordinary prisoners are crowded, the drug lords are living like kings! I will cut off their horns! No one will be spared!”

The media applauded. It immediately trended on social media: #BilibidReform #AguirreForSenator.

All the contraband was seized. The Jacuzzi was destroyed. Don Cesar was dragged out of his luxury cabin to the Isolation Area.

It was already noon when the media left. Warden Aguirre’s office was quiet again.

He summoned Don Cesar. He was handcuffed and wearing an orange uniform, but there was still a hint of arrogance on his face.

“How much, Aguirre?” Don Cesar asked bluntly. “I know the game. You’re just playing the media. Okay, how much monthly payola do you want to get my stuff back? 10 Million a month? 20 Million?”

Page: SAY – Story Around You | Original story.

Aguirre stood up. He approached Don Cesar. He slowly removed the drug lord’s handcuffs.

Cesar thought things were settled. He smiled. “I told you so. Everything has a price.”

But suddenly Aguirre pulled out a gun and pointed it at Cesar’s forehead.

The drug lord’s eyes widened. “Warden… wait… let’s talk…”

“I don’t need money, Cesar,” Aguirre said coldly.

The back door opened. A man with a scar on his face entered—Ka Ramil. He was the Right Hand Man of the Dragon Syndicate, the mortal rival of Don Cesar’s group outside.

“Hello, Cesar,” Ka Ramil greeted.

Don Cesar turned pale. “Ramil? W-How…?”

“It’s simple,” Warden Aguirre replied as he put away his gun. “The raid earlier? It wasn’t to clean up the prison. I did it to clear the way for the Dragon Syndicate. I stripped you of your protection, your equipment, and your personnel. Now, the supply route for the shabu inside… is through Ka Ramil.”

Don Cesar fell to his knees. He understood the game.

“People thought you were a hero,” Cesar said scornfully to Aguirre. “But you’re worse than a criminal.”

Aguirre just laughed. “It’s called Change of Management. In government, nothing is permanent, but business is continuous.”

That night, it was reported on TV that Don Cesar had died in the Isolation Cell from a “Heart Attack” caused by the stress of the raid.

Meanwhile, inside the Warden’s office, Aguirre and Ka Ramil were drinking wine from Cesar’s penthouse.

“Cheers, Warden,” said Ka Ramil. “Because of you, we have the market all to ourselves.”

“Just my 40%, don’t forget it,” replied Aguirre.

Outside, the townspeople were overjoyed. They thought the system had changed. Little did they know, the San Isidro National Penitentiary remained a hell for the poor, and a paradise for criminals who knew how to get along with the “new kings” who were sitting in office. Cesar’s old hut was not demolished; it was being renovated for Ka Ramil’s transfer the next day.

​”Disclaimer: The stories here are just fiction and not news. What is important is the lesson and emotions that can happen to anyone. Thank you, SAY members!