Skyler laid to rest; family hopes for justice

CEBU, Philippines —  Under the burning heat of the sun, family, friends and residents of Barangay Ermita, Cebu City gathered as they bring 4-year-old Bladen Skyler Abatayo to his final resting place at Carreta Public Cemetery yesterday afternoon.

His parents still cry for justice as until now, the person who has fired the shot that killed the boy remains unidentified.

Skyler’s mother, Gwynn Shanieka Capuno, 22, and his father, Marc Anthony Abatayo, 27, were holding his picture and his favorite robot toy inside Mount Carmel parish along Magallanes Street where the requiem Mass was held.

“Hustisya lang akoa.  Salamat sa tanan nga misupporta namo. Ang akoa lang matagaan og tarong nga hustisya akong bata, sayang iya kinabuhi, ang iya pag-eskwela,” Abatayo said.

Believing it would bother the conscience of the one who fired the shot, two chicks were placed on top of his coffin before the Mass.

After the Mass, the boy’s parents and some Barangay Ermita residents, who were wearing shirts with the print “#JusticeForSky,” marched from the church to Sitio Bato, Ermita where Skyler was hit by a stray bullet, to honor his death.

They repeatedly shouted “justice” as the boy’s coffin was placed in his tomb.

Skyler succumbed to a gunshot to the lower rib, with the bullet exited through his shoulder, following the scuffle between cops and drug suspects in a shanty in Sitio Bato, Barangay Ermita, Cebu City on July 10.

Skyler was inside his room playing with his mother when the cops from Carbon Police Station, reportedly responded to a call of an ongoing sniffing session and repacking of suspected shabu.

Cops said a scuffle ensued when one of the four suspects pulled a firearm and fired towards them.

The four policemen tested negative of gun powder residue in a paraffin test.

But some residents insisted there was no commotion prior to the incident.

Cebu City Police Office director Senior Superintendent Royina Garma said that an investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Internal Affairs Office.

She added it is normal for the family to seek justice for the boy’s death.

“Everyone needs justice, even the victims of crimes, even suspects.  There should be justice,” she said.  — MBG (FREEMAN)