Mural portrays boy killed by stray bullet as angel
The idea came to Mark Anthony Abatayo during the wake of of his four-year-old son, Skyler.
He stared at an empty wall overlooking the sea and thought of a mural of the Lord and Skyler smiling.
“Mora kog gisugo sa bata. Nanan-aw ra man mi ato sa away ni Pacquiao niya lipay kaayo mi. Mao to mihawa ko kadiyot niya miakbay sa may seawall didto ko nakahunahuna (It was like my son was telling me something),” Mark said.
Mark imagined his son’s face in the mural and said, “Anghel gud para nako akong anak (my child’s an angel to me).”
He contacted a local artist named Jose in their barangay in Ermita.
“Nakakita kog picture sa Ginoo sa newsfeed samtang nagscroll ko sa mga ni-condolence sa akong anak (I found a picture of God while reading the condolences in my newsfeed),” Mark told SunStar Cebu.
Skyler, who wanted to become a priest, will be buried in the Carreta Cemetery this Saturday. He was killed by a stray bullet during a police operation last July 10.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) Internal Affairs Office, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) 7 are conducting separate probes.
“I really don’t know what went into me that I wanted the mural made. Instead of making me happy, it made me nostalgic every time someone sees my son’s face painted on the wall,” he said.
Mark said that some individuals who were not from their place visited his son’s wake to express their condolences.
NBI 7 agents last Wednesday conducted a reenactment on the incident in the same shanty where the police and four suspected drug personalities had a scuffle.
Two police officers grappled for the possession of a gun with the drug personalities until it went off, hitting Skyler who was studying in his room.
The bullet pierced the boy’s lungs, causing his death.
“Now, I’m even concerned of my own life. They accused me of being involved in drugs. That’s not true,” he said.
Mark is reportedly under the drugs watch list of two police stations in the city.
He said that they will continue to seek justice for his son’s death.