MANILA: Kim Gargar, a former physics professor of the University of the Philippines, was detained at the Baganga jail in Davao Oriental for 10 months after he was accused by the military of being a member of the New People’s Army (NPA).
This, however, did not stop him from doing what he loved: teaching.
“I prepared myself so I would not feel depressed, bored,” Gargar said in Filipino during a press conference in Quezon City yesterday. “I considered (the jail) as my new school. In teaching, you just need students.”
He said he taught literacy to his fellow inmates using flashcards. He said their sessions were generally informal, but nonetheless informative.
Gargar said he was able to teach the inmates the basics of physics and tried to provide them with legal advice.
He said some of the jail wardens were his students.
“Some wanted to take the civil service test. The others would take board exams in criminology,” he said, noting that he used the review materials brought by the wardens.
Gargar, 34, was arrested by members of the 67th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army in Cateel, Davao Oriental following an encounter with NPA rebels.
He was charged with two counts of frustrated murder, violation of the election gun ban and the non-bailable offence of illegal possession of explosives.
But according to Gargar, a PhD candidate of Groningen University in the Netherlands, he was conducting rehabilitation study on Pablo-devastated areas when he heard an exchange of gunfire on October 1, 2013.
The Philippine star
