Shock, sadness over murder of ‘utusan ng bayan’

MANILA, Philippines —  Neighbors remember the scrawny teenage boy as an “utusan ng bayan” or everyone’s errand boy, whose family was so poor he occasionally skipped school to accept odd jobs and make a little money.

Yesterday, the neighbors in the slum area in Cainta, Rizal were shocked and saddened upon learning that the boy called Kulot – Reynaldo de Guzman, only 14 years old – had been found brutally killed in Gapan, Nueva Ecija.

The neighbors milled around the two-story shanty in Barangay San Andres where De Guzman lived with his father Edwardo Gabriel, a construction worker, mother Lina de Guzman and four siblings.

Fish vendor Joven Tare, 48, who said he acted like a second father to Reynaldo de Guzman, said he agreed to hire the boy as his assistant after school hours in exchange for a modest pay. De Guzman had told Tare he needed the job to augment the money for his school requirements. The boy was a fifth grader at the Maybunga Elementary School in Pasig City.

Tare told The STAR that he took pity on De Guzman because the boy’s family was dirt poor. He said he occasionally gave the boy P20 to P30 as pocket money during schooldays: “Paglabas niya sa school, tumutulong siya sa akin. Naawa ako sa kaniya kasi walang wala sila. Pag wala siyang pera binibigyan ko siya ng baon, mga P20 hanggang P30.” 

Reynaldo also worked as a delivery boy in a sari-sari or convenience store and occasionally helped in construction work. Elder brother Edmund, 17, said Reynaldo gave all the money he earned to their parents.

Edmund said Reynaldo worked hard to find legitimate work after classes and during weekends because the boy knew they were so poor: “Sobrang sipag niyang kapatid. Lahat ng alam niyang legal na pwedeng pagkakitaan, pinapasok niya kasi alam niyang walang walang-wala kami.”

Their eldest brother, 22, is a laborer in Laguna. The second son, 19, works in a factory. Edmund is the third child, followed by Reynaldo. The youngest is 13 and also a pupil at Maybunga Elementary School. 

Edmund said they used their mother’s surname because their parents are not legally married.

Holding back his tears, Edmund recalled that he bought Reynaldo a pair of short pants worth P100 in a market in Cainta a few months ago after seeing the boy wearing the same short pants to work every day.

Edmund recalled Reynaldo happily showing off the shorts to their siblings and thanking him. “Natuwa ’yung kapatid ko tapos pinagyabang niya sa iba kong kapatid yung binigay kong shorts. Natuwa din ako nung bumulong siya sa akin ng ‘thank you’ kasi bihira niya gawin ’yun,” Gabriel told The STAR.

Reynaldo, however, wore the short pants only once because it was torn when he worked at a construction site in Cainta and after assisting Tare.

Like many siblings, Reynaldo and Edmund often had disagreements and had fights. Edmund now regrets that he failed to express how much he loved his brother. 

“Sorry kasi lagi tayong nag-aaway. Sorry kung minsan hindi kita pinapansin,” Gabriel said, addressing the dead.

Neighbors remembered De Guzman as a polite boy and a responsible son, who performed any errand he was asked to do, which was why they called him utusan ng bayan. The neighborhood was shocked to learn that De Guzman had been stabbed at least 30 times. 

Asked if he was aware of De Guzman’s involvement in any mischief in their community, Tare said he could not know for sure, but he expressed doubt that the boy ever engaged in illegal activities.

Linked to Carl’s death

Tare said De Guzman’s death could be connected to the killing of former University of the Philippines student Carl Angelo Arnaiz, 19, by the Caloocan police on Aug. 17.

Just a few blocks away from De Guzman’s house, relatives and friends of Arnaiz prayed the rosary yesterday, a day after the UP student’s burial.

Arnaiz and De Guzman had left their homes together for a midnight snack when they went missing. The body of Arnaiz was found in Caloocan the next day. Police claimed he had robbed a taxi driver in Navotas and was shot dead when he resisted arrest.

De Guzman’s mother searched for her son in police stations and social welfare offices, and until the other day had hoped that he was still alive. She also visited numerous funeral parlors.

Her search ended tragically yesterday morning.

The purported taxi driver has gone missing.

Meanwhile, two investigators from the Commission on Human Rights have visited the De Guzman home and coordinated with barangay officials “to verify the report regarding the incident.”