Ang Ladlad coordinator buried

OAS, Albay—Hundreds of relatives and friends on Wednesday brought Dennis “Dindin” Relato, the provincial coordinator of Ang Ladlad, an LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders) political party, to his final resting place, over a week after he was killed by his alleged lover.

Relato, 48, who was also a musician and entertainer, was buried in the Oas Catholic Cemetery after the 10 a.m. Mass at the St. Michael the Archangel Parish.

His only brother, Benjamin, 50, said he could not take what happened to him. “What I’m feeling and (what) the whole family (is feeling) about the suspect is anger. It’s very painful,” said Benjamin, who last saw him 11 years ago.

Police arrested the male suspect, reportedly a 17-year-old from Legazpi City, on the night Relato’s body was found with more than 20 stab wounds inside his house in Barangay Ilaor Sur here on

Sept. 14. As of Wednesday, he was still in police custody and had yet to produce a birth certificate to prove his age before being turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Juvenile justice law

Under the Juvenile Justice System and Welfare Act of 2006, minors between 15 and 18 years old can be criminally charged, but President Aquino amended the law in October 2013 (Republic Act No. 10630), exempting them from criminal liability and subjecting them instead to an intervention program unless they acted with discernment.

“What he (suspect) did to Dindin was very inhumane. There was really an intention to kill. The hack wounds which he (Dindin) incurred from the kitchen knife were very deep, so with that, he must be jailed,” Benjamin said.

The suspect told police that he was forced by Relato to do sexual acts against his will. Benjamin said that assuming this was true, it was still not enough reason for him to kill his brother in a “very brutal” manner.

London-based

Relatos’ brother and parents, who live in London, went home to Oas for his wake and burial. They wanted the suspect convicted the soonest possible time so that justice would be served.

Benjamin said his brother was also about to leave the country for good in the coming years as all family members were already residing in London. “(It) feels very sad that it would no longer be realized because he is gone,” he said.

Before the tragedy, Relato was able to talk with their mother in London over the phone for several hours, he said. “Dindin also called relatives in the United States, which rarely happens. Maybe it’s a premonition,” he said.

A mini-concert was staged by Relato’s friends and colleagues before he was finally laid to rest.