Former child star CJ Ramos, whose real name is Cromell John Ocampo Ramos, was arrested by authorities for using drugs last July 31 in a buy bust operation in Quezon City.
Ramos admitted to using illegal drugs after being arrested and is now detained at the Caloocan City Police Station jail.
In an exclusive interview with Korina Sanchez’s weekly lifestyle show, Rated K, which was aired on August 5, Ramos told tales about his life after he left show business.
He said that his showbiz career began to fall during his teenage years and he experienced depression when his hard-earned money all went in vain.
“Pagdating ko ng high school, medyo tumatamlay na po yung karera ko nun. Alanganin yung edad ko ba — alanganing bata, alanganing matanda. Hindi na ako pinapirma ng kontrata, wala akong manager kaya napabayaan po,” he said.
He said that he was able to save around P1 million from his acting career. He planned on using the money for his education but he wasn’t able to do so after a swindler took all of his money.
“Tinakbuhan po kami ng isang taong nangutang sa amin,” he said. Since then, he said in the interview that his family has struggled financially that became the cause of his depression.
“Ang inuulam namin sa loob ng halos dalawang taon: isang sardinas, itlog, at kanin. Naghahati po kami doon ng pamilya. Doon po siguro ako na-depress, kasi first time ko po nakaramdam ng hirap na ganun, e,” he explained.
With his problem piling up and due to peer pressure, Ramos said that he turned to drugs.
“Siyempre nalungkot kung bakit nangyayari yung ganito. Doon na po nag-uumpisa yung paggamit ko ng ilegal na droga,” he said.
He said that drugs helped him cope with his family’s financial issues and depression, but said that he abused it at some point.
Ramos, however, explained that he has quit doing drugs a year ago for the sake of his family and child. He even tried vocational courses and planned on working abroad, but things didn’t go as expected.
