The pain of losing Skyler

A painting about three meters high and five meters wide on a seawall in Sitio

Bato, barangay Ermita, Cebu City, will remind residents of the village of a little boy they once knew and loved dearly.

Jose (not his real name), a resident of the area, painted the lively face of four-year-old Bladen Skyler Abatayo wearing his school uniform.

But instead of a knapsack that is often carried by little children going to school, on Skyler’s back is a pair of white angel wings.

The artist who wants to remain anonymous, is among the dozens of Ermita residents who shed tears of grief over the senseless death of the child.

Bladen Skyler was among the latest casualties of government’s anti-drug war.

He died after he was hit by a stray bullet during a police raid at an abandoned house that adjoins their home in sitio Bato on the afternoon of July 10, Tuesday.

Jose could still not believe that the boy, who was so full of life, now lies in a casket at a nearby wake.

Jose had become very close to Bladen Skyler when he painted the boy’s room with the image of Jesus and Skyler’s old dog last year after the artist was contracted by the boy’s father, Marc Anthony, to do the work.

For residents of Ermita who knew the boy, Jose’s painting displayed in such a public place somehow manages to ease the pain of losing him to tragedy.

Kathleen, who lives in Sitio Bato near Skyler’s house, recalls how the little boy used to come to her every time he came home from school at noon.

Bladen Skyler was a nursery pupil at the University of Cebu in Cebu City’s downtown area.

He had just finished doing his homework and was practicing to write his name, as he squatted on the floor near his bed, when the stray bullet claimed his life.

Kathleen said the boy, who charmed his neighbors, was treated by everyone as if he were their own son.

Since Skyler’s death, the residents of sitio Bato have gone out of their way to show their grief and to seek justice for the child.

“We are always ready to help their family in whatever way we can.

He was a good child, a very sweet one for all of us here,” said Kathleen in Cebuano.

At around two o’clock dawn last Wednesday, July 11, just as the casket carrying the boy’s remains entered the village, residents turned off their lights and lighted candles at the side of the road leading to Skyler’s wake.

“‘Hustisya!’ (Justice!)”, they shouted in unison as angry tears welled up in their eyes watching four men carry the boy’s coffin through the narrow road.

LIGAYA Banawan, forensic artist of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Manila with NBI-7 agents, conduct a reenactment on how four-year-old Skyler Abatayo was killed
in a police drug operation

Signature campaign

On the first day of Skyler’s wake, the residents initiated a signature campaign urging the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to conduct a probe on the four policemen involved in the anti-drug operation that puportedly resulted to the child’s death.

During the wake, relatives of Skyler — some of whom, the family has never met before — took turns in preparing meals for visitors; while others dropped by to express sympathy.

A relative prepared pospas or arroz caldo, a type of porridge, while on Sunday, another cooked “larang,” a local fish soup, famous in the area.

The residents also volunteered to attend to the child’s wake while Skyler’s parents were busy going to government offices, in search for justice.

Neighbors took turns in waiting on Kylee, Skyler’s two-year-old sister while their parents were out attending to pertinent documents needed for the different probes.

Kathleen said that while they feared for their lives, they will cooperate with the investigation so that justice can be attained.

NBI investigation

The National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) has begun its probe on the incident and gathered information from residents present during the police operation.

An NBI forensic team from the agency’s head office in Manila also staged a reenactment of the police operation.

Skyler’s wake, continues to draw several people including a number of Cebu personalities.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña and his wife, Councilor Margarita Osmeña visited the wake right after the incident and gave P10,000 financial assistance to the boy’s family.

City councilors, both from the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan (BOPK) and the opposition Barug Team Rama,

also visited the child’s wake last week including Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and former mayor Michael Rama.

“They are all welcome here. It is for everyone to see that my innocent child has died senselessly,” said Marc Anthony, a buy-and-sell motor parts dealer, in Cebuano.
Non-Government

Organizations (NGOs) also came to the wake to extend their support to the boy’s family.

Religious organizations also spoke to them about surrendering Skyler’s fate to God.

Amid the grief, Marc Anthony said he feels so much gratitude for all the help and support that their family has gotten even though the reality that his son is gone badly hurts.

“I cannot forget the pain brought by the fact that my child is now gone, but their thoughts and help enlightened my family that somehow, God has a purpose why he took Sky too early,” said Marc Anthony.

Bladen Skyler will be laid to rest tomorrow, July 21.