Jerhode Jemboy Baltazar, the 17-year-old Navotas teenager who was killed by the police in Navotas City, was laid to rest on Wednesday, August 16.
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan led the funeral mass for Baltazar at the San Lorenzo Ruiz church.
In his homily, the prelate stressed police officers “are not the law”. He said, “You are mere enforcers of the law. You were not ordered, given uniforms, armed, and being paid from the country’s taxes just to kill people.”
Baltazar tragically died after the police opened fire while he was removing accumulated water in his boat on August 2.
Rise Up for Life and for Rights, a group of families of the victims of the government’s war on drugs campaign, said, “Because of incidents like these, the need to fight for justice becomes even stronger”.
“This is not easy, as the road towards this goal is long. The victims of Duterte’s war on drugs have witnessed this. We call on the victims of authority abuse to stand up for justice,” the group added.
All photos by Jire Carreon
