In the aftermath of Rico’s death

It’s been almost a month since that unforgettable Good Friday when Rico Yan died in his sleep in the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan.

Unlike Good Fridays of old – when most everyone tuned in to the radio to listen to the Seven Last Words – majority of the Filipinos on that supposedly most holy of days chose instead to monitor radio and television to get the latest news pertaining to the actor’s sudden death.

A week later, a different kind of crucifixion took place when Rosanna Roces was nailed down by public reaction after speaking her mind in a portion of Startalk regarding the Rico Yan overkill. Oh, how she got it from a then overly-emotional public.

But like anything in this country – which will probably never see unity – even the reaction to Ms. Roces’ controversial statements in Startalk was divided. While some chose to rip her to pieces via really ugly tabloid headlines, angry letters to the editor and e-mail, there were also those who agreed with her very revealing comments in the show.

While I was out dining with Ali Sotto (who was recently here on vacation) the other week at the Gloria Maris restaurant in Shangri-La, a well-dressed lady approached me and handed me a note to please tell Rosanna that she (the lady in the restaurant) was throwing her support behind the actress-host.

Even now that Rico Yan has been laid to rest, opinions still vary and there is still a lot of speculations regarding the circumstances surrounding his death. But there is really no point flushing out every fiber of truth regarding the real cause of Rico Yan’s death. To begin with, it’s utterly unfair to the late actor because he’s no longer around to defend himself.

Now, he may or may not have died of drug overdose, but I can still see something positive coming out of those insinuations (no matter how ugly) about how he died.

The past few weeks, we have seen the government (the NBI in particular) seriously going on a crackdown against drugs – with the dealers of the Ecstasy pills getting caught in a drug-bust in close succession. Some people point to this as a result of Rosanna Roces’ very revealing statements in Startalk several Saturdays ago. Now, whether or not Rosanna will be vindicated in the end is immaterial. What’s important is that the government is already doing something and is serious about its campaign against this so-called signature drug that is said to be very popular among most youngsters from affluent families.

Of course in this crackdown against drugs, there is a possibility that the hornets’ nest will be stirred, so to speak – with the alleged Ecstasy users in show business probably quaking in their boots right this very minute.

In all probability, this will be another black eye on the entertainment industry. But if this will help eradicate the worsening drug problem in show business – and hopefully, in this country – then I guess we should welcome this purge. A lot of people for sure will get hurt in the process but God works in mysterious ways, we always say.

Even if there is really no truth at all to speculations that Rico Yan died of drug overdose, his death is starting to serve as a beginning to a possible end to the country’s very serious drug problem.