Members of the Ateneo community and netizens paid tribute to the late Ateneo de Manila Junior High School teacher Emmanuel Joseph Pavia who was shot dead while he was on his way home on Monday night.
READ: Ateneo HS teacher and anti-drug advocate shot dead in Marikina
The tributes to Pavia, more known to his students as “Em-J,” came in tweets and posts on social media with the hashtag #RIPSirPavia.
Twitter user Alvin Joseph Dolores described Pavia as a “modern-day hero.”
“A teacher. A modern-day hero. Not just another dead body,” he said of the late teacher.
Another Twitter user, Alo Lantin, said that Pavia “died for being a good person. He died for being good.”
Some of his former students thanked him for being a good teacher who made them smile inside the classroom and gave them advice.
“I wish we could say ‘good bye and thank you sir’ one last time,” said Twitter user Ryan Herrera.
Others expressed hope that Pavia’s death would not be counted as a mere statistic in the lengthening list of extrajudicial killings under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Pavia, 24, was homebound Monday night when a lone “hired” gunman shot him at St. Joseph Avenue, in Dela Costa Homes, Barangay Barangka, Marikina City at around 7:18 p.m.
According to Chief Inspector Eduardo Cayetano, chief of the station investigation unit of Marikina City Police, Pavia suffered two gunshot wounds in the head and at the back of his body.
Cayetano said that they are looking into the possibility that his being an anti-drug advocate may have something to do with his death.
“He is one of the people strongly advocating against illegal drugs since we started the all-out war against drugs,” Cayetano said.
Even parents spoke kind words about Pavia.
“He was ‘very close and inspirational to the boys’,” an Ateneo parent said.
“He was a favorite of a lot of kids even if his subject was Math,” the parent added.
Pavia was also the Athlete’s Council moderator at the ADMU High School.
He belongs to a family of ADMU teachers, the son of Gerardo Pavia and Margarita Pavia, who are both faculty members of the ADMU Senior High School and the brother of Nestor Jose Pavia, another faculty member of the ADMU Senior High School. AJH/CDG/rga