SPO1 Roderick Balili’s remains lie in state at St. Peter’s Funeral Homes along Imus Street, Cebu City. | Benjie Talisic
SINCE he was a child, SPO1 Roderick Balili had always wanted to be a policeman.
“Ganahan kaayo siya magsunod anang mga action movies sa telebisyon. Hilig kaayo siyag pusil-pusil (He really liked watching action movies on television. He was fond of toy guns),” his 63-year-old father Hilario told Cebu Daily News.
It was therefore a dream come true for Balili, the eldest of 10 siblings, when he made it to the Philippine National Police in 2004.
He had since served the organization with dedication and commitment, his father said.
The last thing Hilario had expected to learn was that his 40-year-old son would die by his own hands in a case of “accidental firing.”
“Wala gyud ko magtuo nga mahitabo na sa akong anak (I never imagined it would happen to my son),” he said in an interview at the St. Peter’s Funeral Homes along Imus Street in Cebu City where Balili lies in state.
The policeman’s mother, Jeffa, who would be turning 60 next month, was inconsolable.
“Nagplano ra ba unta na siya nga magkatapok ang tanan niyang mga igsoon sa akong birthday sunod buwan (My son was planning to gather all his siblings for my birthday next month),” Roderick mother’s said, as she wiped tears away from her eyes.
“Apan karon, kutob na lamang kana sa damgo. Dili na kana mahitabo sa tinuod nga kinabuhi (But now, that would just happen only in a dream. It won’t happen in real life),” she added.
Unfinished home
Both Hilario and Jeffa begged off from answering queries about the pronouncement of the Central Visayas police that their son died after accidentally shooting himself twice on the chest.
Jeffa said she has entrusted everything to God.
“Pait man huna-hunaon nga nahitabo kini sa akong anak pero ang Ginoo na ang bahala sa tanan (While it’s sad to think that this happened to my son, I’ve learned to entrust things to God),” she said.
Balili’s wife is left with a 7-year-old son to attend to. She begged off from issuing any statement.
Balili had wanted to give his parents a decent home and had in fact started the construction of their house in the mountain barangay of Sudlon II in Cebu City.
He died without seeing the completion of his dream house, Hilario said.
“Mao na ang balay ang iyang gipabuhat para sa amoa, apan karon wala na siya (That is the house he constructed for us. But now, he’s no longer with us),” the grieving father said.