CAVITE CITY—Charlie Jean Du and her unborn son shared a white coffin in a cramped room provided by village officials in Barangay 26 here for her wake.
For her mother, Liezel, 30, her only child, named after the popular trio, “Charlie’s Angels,” was nothing more than a “happy but fearless” 15-year-old.
“She’s still a child. She just happened to fall in love too soon,” Liezel said.
The 4-month-old fetus, named Isaiah Airon, per Charlie’s wish, was placed in a plastic bottle that used to contain sugar. The bottle was tucked inside the coffin with its young mother.
Soul mates
Their friends believed Charlie and her boyfriend, Airon Cruz, 28, were “soul mates” as both shared the same birthday, Sept. 30. The couple of no longer than 10 months died on the same day, in a shootout with policemen on Oct. 23.
Police said Airon was the leader of a gun-for-hire group, responsible for killings in Cavite, among them the 2014 slaying of tabloid reporter Rubylita Garcia in Bacoor City.
Supt. Giovannie Martinez, city police chief, said a resident reported gun firing at Airon’s house at 4 a.m. When policemen arrived, Airon’s team allegedly fired at them, resulting in a shootout.
Girl’s plea
Aside from Airon, also killed was his brother, Arcy-Niño, 30. Their two other friends, Romeo “Jack” Bejerano, 28, and Jeffrey Dasig, 32, also died in the shootout.
Charlie had nine bullet wounds in the chest and buttocks. The four others had bullet wounds and bruises.
Police said Charlie held two grenades, but Liezel doubted this saying her daughter could not even hold a knife.
Based on their neighbors’ accounts, Liezel said Charlie was heard crying for help. “‘Tama na! Buntis ako’ (Enough! I’m pregnant,” their neighbors quoted Charlie as saying.
Airon and Arcy’s younger sister, Abigail, said neighbors also heard Charlie screaming: “‘Palabasin n’yo na lang ako’ (Just please let me leave).”
“Is this what you call ‘nanlaban’ (someone who fought back)? You see these jalousies? Not a single one of them was broken,” Abigail said.
CHR probe
Lawyer Jacqueline dela Peña, spokesperson for the Commission on Human Rights, said they dispatched on Wednesday a team to investigate the incident.
“We’d like to see if the police followed the manual of operations, the rules of engagement and if it were a reasonable, proportionate use of force,” she said.