A poverty striken life at Sampaloc ,Manila - ARNEL PINEDA (Journey Band)

I happen to encounter a very inspiring article about Arnel Pineda and about the place where he grew up, I also took the liberty of researching pics of the place where he spent most of his childhood. Please read on;

A well-known Filipino lead vocalist of the band Journey confesses that he was once addicted to drugs. Arnel Pineda gave a warning to the youth against the use of prohibited drugs. Exclusive on patrol - Chief Correspondent, Korina Sanchez.

He was an unknown singer then who is now suddenly being mobbed in America as the lead vocalist of the popular Journey band. He is Arnel Pineda, born and raised in Sampaloc (in Manila) and grew up in poverty.

Arnel: Rusmon and I washed jeepneys, then slept in Luneta (a park in Manila).

Korina: How often did you sleep in Luneta?

Arnel: Maybe, I did that once a week…there were times then that I didn’t eat for 3 days.

He admitted that when he despaired for not reaching his dreams, he tried using prohibited drugs, liked it, and became addicted.

Arnel: …to the point that I would have...I wished that I was dead …

For Arnel’s family, especially to his wife Cherry, that was the most miserable thing that happened to their life, “When he gets drunk, he cries… so I asked him, “What is the problem?” And then I found out he was using drugs.”

Arnel lost his mother early in his life when she died of a lung problem. He said that it was his mother who saved him before he totally became wasted in drugs. “I think my mother was there all the time. Every time I thought I was almost dying and gave up hope in my life, I felt she whispered to me and asked, “Why are you doing this?””

Because of drugs, Arnel almost lost everything. “It was my wife who saved me…it was my birthday and we were having fun. I was high on drugs; I was high on alcohol. While Cherry was upstairs, she was packing her bag. When I went up, she told me she was leaving and will have to leave me behind. And that woke me up…”

At this time, news about use of prohibited drugs are all over and Arnel has a message to the drug users, “Drugs…it will never do you any good. It will destroy your life, it will destroy your dream, it will destroy your hopes, it will destroy your family. Bottom line, STAY AWAY, REALLY STAY AWAY FROM IT." - Korina Sanchez, Patrol ng Pilipino.