"Boses upos"

Episode on July 28, 2008 Monday late night after Saksi Howie Severino and his I-Witness team immerse themselves in the world of people who talk like robots and have holes in their throats. One of those is Emer Rojas, a former radio announcer who suffered his worst nightmare: he lost his voice when he contracted cancer of the vocal chords which had to be surgically removed. He and others like him now have to breathe through a hole in their throats. But with the help of a small device, he regained his voice but now sounds like a robot. Like other cancer survivors, he lives on borrowed time. But Emer also becomes a man on a mission. He has organized those like him, former chain smokers who lost their vocal chords and talk like robots. Others have learned to use esophageal speech or talking by burping and ended up sounding like frogs. Emer uses his voice to draw attention to his cause: anti-smoking. He speaks on campuses and even returns to radio booths to champion his cause. Emer and his allies are advocating putting pictures of people with cancer on cigarette packs, which is done in other countries. But the opposition is as powerful as the tobacco industry. Howie and his team visit the biggest cigarette factory in the Philippines, which supplies one of the most smoking-addicted nations in the world.

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Sa linggong ito, papasukin ni Howie Severino at ng kanyang I-Witness team ang mundo ng mga tao na parang robot magsalita at may butas sa kanilang lalamunan. Isa rito si Emer Rojas, isang dating radio announcer na nakaranas ng kanyang pinakamatinding bangungot: ang pagkawala ng kanyang boses nang magkaroon siya ng cancer sa vocal chords na kinailangang alisin. Siya at marami pang tulad niya ay humihinga na ngayon gamit ang butas sa kanilang lalamunan. Ngunit sa tulong ng isang aparato, nagawa na ni Emer na makapagsalita ngunit tunog robot na ang kanyang boses. Tulad ng ibang cancer survivors, bilang na ang araw niya sa mundo. Sa kabila nito, nagkaroon si Emer ng bagong misyon sa buhay. Kanyang inorganisa ang mga tulad niya, mga dating chain smoker na nawalan na ng vocal chords at ngayo'y tunog robot. Ang iba naman ay natuto ng tinatawag na esophageal speech, o ang pagsasalita sa pamamagitan ng pagdighay na tila palaka. Ginagamit ni Emer ang kanyang kakaibang boses upang makakuha ng atensyon sa kanyang pinaglalaban: ang masawata ang paninigarilyo. Nagsasalita siya sa mga eskwelahan at muling bumalik sa radyo upang ihatid ang kanyang mensahe. Tinutulak ni Emer at ng kanyang lupon ang paglalagay ng litrato ng mga taong may cancer sa etiketa ng sigrailyo, isang bagay na matagal nang ginagawa sa ibang bansa. Ngunit ang oposisyon dito ay kasinlaki ng industriya ng tabako. Pinuntahan ng grupo ni Howie ang pinakamalaking pagawaan ng sigarilyo sa Pilipinas, na isa sa mga bansa sa mundo ngayon na marami ang lulong sa ganitong bisyo.