Ramon Tulfo: Drugs prevalent at College of St. Benilde

MANILA, Philippines – In his column published yesterday, journalist Ramon Tulfo exposed how the sale of illegal drugs was prevalent at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB).

Tulfo learned about the matter after his daughter, Nastassja Ramone, came home with eyes drooping. Tulfo and his wife then searched their daughter’s room and found a sachet of marijuana.

Nastassja later on admitted that she bought Valium and marijuana at a coffee shop near the DLS-CSB campus. She was a student of the said college.

Nastassja also confessed that some of her classmates were users as well. They were buying the prohibited drugs from fellow students on and off campus. Coffee shops Beach, Barn and Plato were among the places where students frequently hang out and bought drugs.

Nastassja later on took to microblogging site Twitter her resentment over her father’s impulsive writing. She also criticized her father for misinformation on the establishments he mentioned.

Sources confirmed that there were factual errors in the column. The said establishments were not coffee shops but bars and the SBA building should have been SDA.

Although Tulfo knew that he would shame himself and his daughter by writing the article, he still continued doing so as he wanted to warn fellow parents like him who had children studying at the college to take proper action and protect their children.

The DLS-CSB administration had not yet released an official statement. For the mean time, DLS-CSB Institutional Communications unit staff member Ivy Cruz said a short comment on the alleged drug culture on their college.

“The administration is working very hard to ensure that the students and parents are happy about our services. The primary concern of the school is the welfare of the students. We are really concerned on the welfare of the students and the parents,” Cruz said in an interview.

Just last year, a student from the De La Salle University, College of St. Benilde’s sister school, was caught and arrested for possession of 223 ecstasy tablets.

With report from Cyra Moraleda