Two gunmen remain at large after a shooting in Malasiqui, Pangasinan left two people dead and one injured, prompting an anguished plea for justice from the victim’s mother, an overseas Filipino worker based in Malaysia.
According to the Manila Bulletin, Cherry Belo learned that her eldest son, Harryvel, was gunned down at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Barangay Barang. She spoke out the following day, on Sunday, begging authorities to act on the case.
“Tulungan ninyo kami (Help us),” she said.
The gravity of the attack widened beyond a single victim. A male companion of Harryvel was also killed, while a woman who was with them survived with wounds. Responding to the killings, Police Regional Office 1 director Police Brig. Gen. Jovencio Badua Jr. directed Pangasinan police chief Police Col. Dennis de Leon to open an investigation. The two assailants have yet to be identified.
Cherry’s grief carries the weight of a recent conversation. Not long before the shooting, her son had reached her by phone and asked when she planned to return to the Philippines. She explained that her work abroad was not yet finished, tied to a financial commitment they shared.
“Tapusin muna natin anak na mabayaran ang hinuhulugan nating motor para may magamit ka sa sunod na taon uuwi na ako para magkasama tayong pamilya (We should finish paying the motorcycle before I go home so that you have something to use. Next year, I will go home so that we can be together again),” she recalled telling him.
That promised reunion will now take a different form. Her employer, informed of what happened, released her from her duties, and she is preparing to fly home from Malaysia to bury Harryvel and stand with her mourning relatives.
