This man who has been running a column for so long knows too well that once someone enters the world of journalism, he should be ready to take the risks inherent to it. One of the hazards is libel suit or death threats if not outright assassination.
Ruther D. Batuigas, from Capiz City, a province in the area is one of the Philippine's leading crime reporter who covers police and military beat turned columnist; a real tough guy, a veteran reporter, good provider to his six children and has been serving his family so well, a loving husband, a friend, supporter, and your worst enemy. Batuigas is a tough guy with a soft heart who even cooks for his family and tends garden whenever he has time.
Two of Batuigas' feats have been the subject of two Filipino movies. One story tells about one man in the 70s who were forced to admit a crime he did not commit. The police succeeded in throwing this man named Leonardo De Los Reyes a.k.a. Waway to jail. Waway loves to play his tongue around his lips every time he kills someone. One time Waway held hostage a pregnant woman with her children in Marikina (a city within Metropolitan Manila), if not because of Batuigas who negotiated the surrender of Waway, this family would have been dead by grenade explosion. Waway was jailed but escaped from the Manila City Jail and in his escape from the prison cell he successfully killed his police torturers one by one in order to get even.
Batuigas tried his best to lead Waway a normal life but unfortunately Waway was tip-off to policemen by a close friend and was killed as they try to stop him during an attempted hold-up. Batuigas felt saddened of his death - though no one is above the law but he could have given this man who is a victim of misfortune a second chance to polish himself and be a better citizen.
Another suspense drama in Batuigas' career was when he negotiated with a cold-blooded killer Silvestre Mate, for the release of Susie Butler at Forbes Park, a posh subdivision in Makati City, a known business district in the Philippines. Susie Butler is the daughter of an American businessman Charles Butler and niece of a late ranchman Stewart Raab. Susie's mother Caroline was gunned down by one of Mate's accomplice.
The hostage drama lasted more than 10 hours. Acknowledgments are due to the guards of a former Manila mayor (Antonio Villlegas) who responded to the scene after they heard a loud scream of help from one of the Butler's maid. The maid was killed and the culprit escaped except for the hostage taker Mate, who talked to the authorities including a police general (Mariano Ordonez) and demanded to call Batuigas, to whom he would surrender. The mayor and the general ordered their men to look for Batuigas, who was then the chief-reporter and columnist of the extinct and defunct Daily Star newspaper.
Batuigas finally arrived in the morning of November 1, 1971 and was welcomed by hundreds of lawmen and spectators. It was then he met Susie's uncle Stewart Raab, who takes care of the Butler's family since the head of the family is in America at that time. The hostage taker Mate demanded a helicopter and after a while it came courtesy of the Manila Times newspaper. Mate, Susie, Batuigas, and Raab, who offered himself as additional hostage boarded the chopper. They dropped Mate on top of the mountain of Botolan, Zambales (a province north of Manila) where the drama ended.
On March 6, 1990 - Steward Raab, who became Batuigas' close friend, was killed in cold blood by communist rebels in San Jose, Milagros, Masbate (another province in the Philippines). Authorities believed that Raab's refusal to continue paying revolutionary tax could have been the reason behind the killing.
Ruther D. Batuigas' mission in life is to help everyone especially those victims of maltreatment, tortures, abuse or were hurt by authorities. To this day he still writes a daily column for a tabloid with national circulation. In his column he normally writes and expose about anomalies, secrecy no matter who gets hurt, never mind if it is within or outside government institutions, police or military ranks. He gives praises to people who deserve to be praised but most of the time exposes criminals and hoodlums and chase crooks. Also, in his column he gives priorities to letters of aggrieved parties who could not get justice because of poverty and those given run-arounds in public offices.
In 1989, a well-known psychic in Asia, Jojo Acuin warned Batuigas that his days are numbered and that a group is out there to kill him. But Batuigas was so thankful to the Lord up there and to his .45 caliber gun and M-16 rifle that kept him alive and kicking. This man prefers to be a critic endlessly rather joins politics which he absolutely hates.
