By ERNIE B. ESCONDE CORRESPONDENT
ORION, Bataan: A few minutes after the execution of Edgardo Mendoza, who hailed from Bataan province’s Calungusan village, his fellow villagers expressed disbelief and grief over the fate of the 35-year-old man, who had been put to death in China on Thursday for drug trafficking.
They said that their kababaryo (village mate) was good and helpful, especially to those seeking hospitalization.
“Masakit, hindi namin akalain na mangyayari sa kanya ganoon [It hurts, we did not expect that that [execution] would happen to him],” Paning Vitangcol said while she and a companion were waiting for a jeepney ride.
Mendoza, a bachelor, was a medical assistant helping those seeking hospitalization.
“Mabuting bata, matulungin at naging Sangguniang Kabataan chairman dito, kaya hindi namin sukat akalain na napasok sa sindikato [He was a good boy, helpful and he was a Youth Council chairman here, so we can’t believe that he joined a syndicate]” Raul Reyes said.
“Mainam lagay ng batang iyan. Siyempre, malungkot dahil sa nangyari sa kanya [He was fine. Of course, we’re sad with what happened to him],” Carmelita Reyes said while sewing dresses.
Others in the peaceful and simple village near MacArthur Highway shook their heads, saying, “Kapalaran siguro [Maybe it was his fate].”
A public official close to the family said that there was a plan to cremate Mendoza’s body upon arrival to lessen the impact on the man’s bedridden mother.
The official added that the mother got sick after learning that her son—the youngest of five children—was jailed in China in 2008.
He said that before the mother got sick, she had always been staring at their main door, hoping to see her son enter the house.
The public official intimated that the wake for Mendoza would be held in an uncle’s house that was at the dead end of a road, not at the residence beside the national highway.
A Holy Hour or an hour of prayers was held in the parish where the victim had lived.
Prayers were also offered on Sunday during Masses in churches under the diocese.
- o - o - o - o -
Executed Pinoy not an OFW
A DETAIL worth remembering is that the 35-year-old Filipino from Bataan who was executed yesterday was not an Overseas Filipino Worker in China. He wasthere as a tourist. This was declared by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Jose Gutierrez Jr earlier this week.
Gutierrez said the man was a drug courier who earned as much as US$4,000 to US$6,000 for each trip he made. He said PDEA is now working with the National Bureau of Investigation to arrest the man’s boss or recruiter. The Pinoy drug mule was working for the Manila branch of an African drug syndicate. The syndicate continues to recruit other Filipinos like this kababayan of ours from Bataan.
PDEA, with the NBI and the PNP, must succeed interminating the drug syndicates operating in our country. We must cease having the black mark of being among the world’s top drug sources and connecting points.
No comments:
Post a Comment