‘Masakit pa rin’: Drug war fatality’s mom still can’t accept son’s fate

MANILA, Philippines — It may have been six years since the incident in Pangasinan, but the mother of a drug war fatality still cannot accept what happened to her son, who only wanted to become a professional Defense of the Ancients (DotA) gamer.

According to Christine Pascual, mother of 17-year-old Joshua Pascual Laxamana who was killed in the past administration’s anti-drug operation in 2018, she hopes lawmakers will listen to her and other individuals representing drug war victims.

“Sobrang sakit po, sana sa lahat po ng nakakarinig dito maintindihan niyo po kung bakit nandito po kami ngayon sa harapan ninyo, nagsusumamo na buksan ang puso niyo, ‘wag maging negatibo, isipin rin niyo po ‘yong pinagdadaanan namin hindi biro po, bakit kami lumalaban ng ganito,” Pascual, who turned emotional, told members of the House committee on human rights on Wednesday.

(It is so painful, I hope everyone who hears this understands why we are here right now; I’m asking that you open your hearts, refrain from being so negative, and think about our plight.  Why we are fighting for this has not been a joke.)

Laxamana was killed by police officers in Pangasinan during the implementation of the past administration’s drug war.  Cops said the minor fired against operatives, but Pascual insists that Laxamana was merely coming home from a DotA tournament in Baguio City and was just caught in the middle of the operation.

Pascual said, however, that it has been hard to fight for justice for her son, as the different steps she took resulted in losses.

“Lahat po ng proseso sa kaso nilakad po namin, kahit walang pamasahe sige lang po basta ‘yong proseso ng kapulisan po, sinunod namin.  Naghihintay po kami ng sagot kasi kumpleto naman po eh, nagulat na lang po kami dinismiss po.  Bilang ano po, sinubukan pa rin po sa Ombudsman, hintay pa rin po, proseso — tama naman po ‘yong proseso namin, sabi ko nga wala namang ebidensya (so) may basehan,” Pascual told lawmakers.

(We followed all of the processes needed, even if we did not have money for transportation, we did it to follow the processes stated by the police.  We waited for an answer because we submitted complete documents, but we were shocked to know that it was dismissed.  We tried with the Ombudsman and waited for the process — we complied with the requirements; there was no sufficient evidence from the police.)

“Dumating po sa Ombudsman, ilang araw lang po, dismissed na naman po.  Hanggang dumating po ‘yong time na may pag-asa, Supreme Court, pinakamalaki na po ‘to, Lord, ‘ka ko, kahit man lang dito bigyan mo kaming pagkakataon, hirap na hirap na rin po kami pa’no lumaban, pagdating po ng ilang araw dismiss na naman po,” she added.

(When we got to the Ombudsman, it was dismissed just after a few days.  Then there was hope when we got to the Supreme Court, I was asking the Lord to give us a chance because it has been so difficult to fight for this.  But after a few days, it was dismissed too.)

READ: War on drugs: The violence, scars, doubts and families it left behind

Pascual reiterated her statements that Laxamana was not involved in the drug trade as her son, who police said tried to escape using a motorcycle, did not even know how to use a bicycle.

All that Laxamana wanted, her mother said, was to be famous for being skilled in DotA.

“Ang masaklap pa po, pinatay na, pinaratangan pa ng kung ano-ano.  ‘Yon po ‘yong masakit do’n eh, ‘yong may drugs, nanlaban, pa’no naman kaming inang nagpalaki do’n sa bata, alam namin maayos namin silang pinalaki, ‘di ba po?  Nagka-motor ‘yong bata na walang motor.  Ni-bike hindi po marunong ‘yong bata,” she said.

(What’s worse is that after they killed my son, they accused him of different things.  That’s what is painful, they say he used drugs and fought against cops, but we mothers know that we raised good kids. He somehow got a motorcycle even though he doesn’t have one. He doesn’t even know how to ride a bike.)

“Normal na bata, gustong sumikat, alam naman po natin siguro ‘yong DoTA player, (nagkaka-)olympics ‘yan eh, ‘yon lang po ‘yong hangad niya, ‘yong maging isang gamer, nagkataon lang po na mahirap lang po talaga kami, kaya sabi ko ‘yong hustisya para sa mayaman lang.  Ba’t sa mahirap parang hindi kami napapansin,” she added.

(He was a normal kid who wanted to get famous; these days DoTA players can participate in competitive sports. That’s what he was yearning for, to be a gamer.  However, we are poor, that’s why I think justice is only for the rich. We poor people are not given attention.)

The investigation conducted by operatives of the Rosales Municipal Police Station said that Laxamana was aboard a motorcycle around 3:00 a.m. of August 17, 2018, when he disregarded a police checkpoint near the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx) access road in Barangay Bakit-Bakit.

They claimed that the DotA player fired at the officers, which broke the patrol car’s windshield, before fighting it out with authorities.  Laxamana was killed after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds to the chest.

According to Pascual, police established Laxamana’s link to the drug trade using his tattoo — an image of a horned woman, which police said is often found on drug suspects’ bodies.

Pascual however noted that the tattoo is nothing but an image of the “Queen of Pain” or Akasha, a known DotA 1 and DotA 2 playable hero.

“Kilala kasing manlalaro ng DotA si Joshua, na ang codename ay ‘Ima.’  Sa sobrang pagkahumaling niya sa paglalaro, nagpatattoo pa nga ito ng imahe ni ‘Queen of Pain’ sa kanyang braso,” Pascual said in an interview when she filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman in February 2019.

(Joshua is a known player who goes by the codename ‘Ima.’  Due to his obsession with the game, he had a tattoo of the image of the ‘Queen of Pain’ on his arm.)

“Upang mapagbintangan na sangkot sa droga si Joshua, binabanggit ng mga pulis ang tattoo ng imahe ni ‘Queen of Pain’ sa kanyang braso na tattoo daw ng mga sangkot sa droga,” she asserted.

(To link Joshua to drugs, the police mentioned the tattoo of the ‘Queen of Pain’ image which is supposedly the tattoo of those involved in illegal drugs.)

READ: Mother of slain ‘Dota’ player files murder raps vs Pangasinan cops 

The House panel is investigating allegations of extrajudicial killings in Duterte’s drug war.  While many praised the drug war for addressing the country’s drug menace, it was also criticized for being too bloody, and with innocent civilians, including minors, being dragged into the killing incidents.

Laxamana was not the first minor killed during the drug war.  In August 2017, a year before Laxaman died, 17-year-old Kian delos Santos was killed despite not being the original target of the anti-drug operation in Caloocan City.  He was shot point-blank even if camera footage showed him pleading for his life.

READ: 3 policemen guilty of killing Kian delos Santos — court

Two days before Kian was killed, 19-year-old Carl Angelo Arnaiz and 14-year-old Reynaldo de Guzmann’s bodies were found in different areas – Arnaiz at a funeral in Caloocan City, and de Guzman, in a creek in Nueva Ecija.

READ: Caloocan cop found guilty for ‘drug war’ deaths of two teens

Then in June 2019, three-year-old girl Myca Ulpina was killed in an anti-drug operation in Rodriguez, Rizal.  Reports said that anti-drug operatives were tracking down a certain Renato Dolofrina in Barangay San Jose in Rodriguez.

They were able to kill the suspect, but his daughter Myca was also shot.  She was rushed to the hospital but died a day after the operation.

READ: Mom of 3-year-old girl slain in anti-drug ops files raps vs Rodriguez cops

Police said the suspect used his daughter as a human shield to get away from authorities. Myca’s mother, however, denied that Dolofrina did this.