Team DailyPedia
His name was Marvin Gomez. He was one of the 136 killed (from June 30 to July 11, as tallied by the Philippine Daily Inquirer) during the current administration’s war against crime.
The Journal Online, in an article dated July 6, reported that Gomez was arrested during a buy-bust operation at Bgy. Malipampang, San Ildefonso, Bulacan. The article further stated that Gomez grabbed the gun of one of the arresting officers and was shot dead during the ensuing struggle.
The family of the victim, however, tells a different story. A relative of Gomez, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of their lives, insists that there was no buy-bust operation. Gomez was at the house of his in-laws with his wife when the authorities came for him. The relative further stated that Gomez did not resist arrest. “Kusa naman pong sumama, pinosasan at isinakay sa mobile. (He went voluntarily, was cuffed, and went to ride the mobile.)”
That was the last time they saw Gomez alive. “…at early morning, his dead body was found dumped in a deserted place with 12 gunshots,” posted Zena Bernardo Bernardo last July 9 on Facebook. Bernardo, a mother of four and creator of the NeverAgain, NeverForget PH Facebook group, identifies herself in the post as a cousin of one of Gomez’s relatives.
While it is true that Gomez was a drug user and pusher, Bernardo argued that it cannot be denied that “brutal yung pagkapatay sa kanya. (He was brutally murdered.) I know that boy. Humingi pa nga sya sa akin ng used pair of shoes noon, gagamitin nya daw sa pagko-konduktor ng bus. (He even once asked me for a pair of used shoes, which he was going to wear to work as a bus conductor.)”
Facebook user Rommel Bernardo Bernardo, in a comment to Bernardo’s post, offered more details of what the victim had suffered. “12 bullet wounds. 1 sa left arm, 1 sa right arm, 1 sa panga or jaw, 1 sa likod, 8 sa harap na katawan o dibdib (chest). 12 wounds. Nanlaban? (He fought?) Logic dictates the opposite…”
As if to add insult to the injustice, when relatives went to claim Gomez’s body, they were asked to pay a hefty fee before the body could be released. “Sinabihan daw sila na may agency na kumuha para linisin yung body, (They were told an agency had come to clean up the body.)” said the relative. “Nung hinihingi nila yung mga damit ang sabi daw ay itinapon na nila. Siningil pa sila ng P10,000 para i-release yung body ni Marvin, at napilitan silang magbayad. (When they asked for the clothes he died in, they were told it had been disposed of. They were asked for 10,000 pesos for the body’s release, which they were forced to pay.)”
Bernardo condemns the act as a “clear case of execution without due process… The massive killing is fast becoming a norm and that is alarming, in fact frightening.”
136 killed in 12 days. One of which was Marvin Gomez. He leaves behind a wife and three small daughters.
