Noong isang Linggo, pumunta kaming magkakaibigan sa isang salu-salo para sa birthday ng kabarkada naming taga-Las Piñas.
Kokonti lang kami, pero okay lang. Masarap ang mga pagkain. May music pang tumutugtog habang kumakain kami.
Masaya yung handaan. Masayang masaya nga sana. Pero may kulang.
Wala kasi roon yung may kaarawan. Wala si Niño Calinao. Yung may birthday, sa libingan mo na dadalawin.
Twenty-two na sana si Niño noong Linggong iyon. Dapat, nagtratrabaho na siya sa BusinessWorld o sa GMA-7 — yun daw kasi ang balak niyang pasukan sana kung sakali.
Kaso lang, minalas si Niño. Alam kong kilala ninyo siya.
Nabiktima siya sa UP ng mga taong akala’y sa kanila ang mundo, ng mga taong nakalimot na hindi sila Diyos.
Sa di-maipaliwanag na takbo ng mga pangyayari, si Niño ang tumanggap ng apat na nakamamatay na mga bala sa isang tunggaliang di naman siya kasangkot.
Ang teorya ng mga taga-UP at ng pulisya, biktima ng mistaken identity sa isang fraternity war si Niño.
Hindi member ng alinmang frat si Niño. Paano pa ba naman niya maaasikaso ang mga ganoong bagay, eh siya lang ang inaasahan ng pamilya niya na makapagdudulot sa kanila ng ginhawa pagka-graduate niya?
Si Niño kasi, totoong iskolar ng bayan — paaral ng sambayanan na may puhunang talino.
Ideal na anak, the best na kuya, mabait na kaibigan. Kahit na inaasar namin minsan, ok lang sa kanya — walang sama ng loob.
Ang mas masakit nito, wala pa ring nangyayari sa kaso ni Niño. May apat na suspek ang nahuli, pero sa kabila ng mga lead, hindi pa rin ma-pin point ang mastermind. Ambagal ng hustisya.
Sana, hindi makalimutan ng mga tao ang kuwento ng isang iskolar ng bayan na nabiktima ng karahasan sa kampus. Sana, samahan nila kami sa paghihintay ng katarungan para kay Niño.
just sharing my memories of that day…we had an STS class that afternoon, a 5:30-7 class I think, but for some reason the prof didn’t show up and the class was cancelled. when we went back to masscomm, we learned that a CMC student had been shot. i didn’t know it at the time, but as it turned out, Niño was in that STS class as well. he was hanging around AS because he still had a 5:30 class, which didn’t push through anyway. who knows, if the class cancellation was announced earlier, would he have gone home?
it’s all beside the point now, of course. the point now, as you pointed out, is where is justice for niño?
just sharing my memories of that day…we had an STS class that afternoon, a 5:30-7 class I think, but for some reason the prof didn’t show up and the class was cancelled. when we went back to masscomm, we learned that a CMC student had been shot. i didn’t know it at the time, but as it turned out, Niño was in that STS class as well. he was hanging around AS because he still had a 5:30 class, which didn’t push through anyway. who knows, if the class cancellation was announced earlier, would he have gone home?
it’s all beside the point now, of course. the point now, as you pointed out, is where is justice for niño?
[…] Kahit wala na siya, inalala pa rin namin noon ang kanyang kaarawan. May kuwento ako sa Birthday ng Isang Kaibigang Pinaslang. […]
[…] Kahit wala na siya, inalala pa rin namin noon ang kanyang kaarawan. May kuwento ako sa Birthday ng Isang Kaibigang Pinaslang. […]