THE Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Secretary Atty. Benhur Abalos Jr. made a special visit to Boss Toyo’s Pinoy Pawnstar shop located in Quezon City.
On a vlog that was released on the YouTuber’s account two days ago, Sec. Abalos visited the shop to try his luck in finding an old police uniform, to display in the Philippine National Police (PNP) Museum.
“Mahilig kasi talaga ako sa collectibles, sa mga antiques. Last year, mayroon museum ang ating mga kapulisan. Ito’y maliit lang pero kapag pupunta kayo, makikita ninyo ang transformation ng pulis noong araw hanggang ngayon,” Abalos said.
“Iba-iba ang uniporme, so dumaan ako dito baka kako mayroon kayong mga items na tungkol sa pulis na pwede kong mai-contribute sa museyo.”
Luckily for him, Boss Toyo has a single complete set of an old police uniform. It is a Philippine Constabulary Uniform that was a gendarmeri-type of military police force uniform of the Philippines.
Screenshot from: @Boss Toyo Production | YouTube
Abalos was in awe to see how beautiful this piece were, how thick the clothe were used in old police uniforms, along with all the pins it has to be attached on the uniform.
The PNP Museum is located in Camp Crame, Quezon City. It is a two-floor building that showcases various PNP memorabilias and other artifacts they’ve collected throughout the years.
Before buying the said uniform, the vlog turned into more than just about buying a police uniform. It became an inspiring story for both Sec. Abalos and Boss Toyo, as they shared a meaningful story that would leave an impact to all the viewers.
The heartwarming stories
Boss Toyo was astounded by the idea on how big DILG’s scope were, in terms of serving the Filipino people. Sec. Abalos shared that they’re not solely focused on local governments, but also with the peace and order of the country.
“Maraming nalilito pa rin sa ibig sabihin at hawak ng DILG. So ako ang nag susupervise ng governors, vice governors, mayors, chairmans, at SKs,” explained Abalos.
“Yung sa interior, dalawa lang ang iisipin niyo, peace and order at public safety. Ako rin ang nangangasiwa sa Philippine National Police, sa Bureau of Jail, at sa Bureau of Fire.”
Screenshot from: @Boss Toyo Production | YouTube
More than this, the Secretary is also incharge of other things such as, the commission on women, on youth, and on Muslim Filipinos. His office also has a public safety college and local government academy.
Proven by how broad the role of DILG Sec. Abalos performs, Boss Toyo was intrigued and took the opportunity to ask if he also manages the drug crimes inside the country.
“Ang sistema ng droga, parang puno iyan. Maski putulin mo nang putulin ang sanga kung hindi mo inuugat, nandyan pa rin yang puno na yan,” Abalos explained.
“Para sa amin, sa DILG, ang droga ay parang puno. Habang pinuputol ng mga pulis ang sanga, kami on the ground, yung ugat. Ibig sabihin isama mo yung simbahan, pamilya, rehabilitasyon, bigyan mo ng trabaho, para magbago.”
Abalos insisted that capturing drug addicts is not enough, but he does believe that these people would still change by offering assistance such as providing jobs for them, in order to draw them away from addiction.
This became an avenue for Boss Toyo to share his experience back when he was still a teen, as he is one of the many people that became addicted, but was able to change their ways and find a bigger purpose in life.
Screenshot from: @Boss Toyo Production | YouTube
“I’ve been worst to worst addict for mga nine years, from 13 years old hanggang 21. Tapos ilang beses din po akong na-rehab. As in dumating ako sa punto na nagnanakaw ako sa bahay, nangungupit ako ultimo t-shirt, sapatos, delata,” shared Boss Toyo.
“Pero naka-survive ako, kasi hindi ako sinukuan ng pamilya ko eh. They gave me a chance na talagang magbago, hindi nila ako pinabayaan. So sabi ko, may pag-asa na magbago.”
“Kusa nalang pumitik sa isip ko na ano bang ginagawa ko sa buhay ko? Wala na akong mapuntahan. So dun na rin nag-start Sir, yung changes sa buhay ko. Nag-work ako,” Boss Toyo added.
Abalos then offered Boss Toyo to join him and his office in going around places to share his inspiring story from being an addict to building himself up to the man he currently is.
The DILG Secretary also shared that with the efforts they’ve been pouring, the number of drug addicts are slowly dying down. This is by offering them education and job opportunities once they come out of rehab.
At the end of the vlog, Boss Toyo offered Sec. Abalos that the whole set of uniform will be sold for the same price they bought, which is P7,500.
Instead of asking Boss Toyo to lower the price, Abalos brought it up to P7,600, in a condition that the now-famous vlogger will join him in his program and deliver inspiring talks to the youth and other addicts in rehabilitation.
Indeed, a simple purchase from the DILG secretary turned out into a more meaningful purpose. Just like their promise, they will continue to inspire individuals, and support them in escaping addiction.
