NUPL alludes to Abella’s ‘haply’ remark, demands responsibility for Kian Loyd slay

Happily, haply, hapless, or helpless?

These were the words used by the National Union of People's  Lawyers (NUPL) on Saturday as it alluded to a controversial statement from Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella about the killing of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos.

In an allusion- and alliteration-filled statement, NUPL president Edre Olalia demanded accountability for the slay of Delos Santos, which happened during an anti-illegal drugs operation in Caloocan City last Wednesday.

"Make no mistake about it," NUPL president Edre Olalia said in a statement.

"The responsibility for the cold-blooded, unmitigated, premeditated and brutal murder of Kian Lloyd and the culling of hapless and helpless others ultimately goes straight all the way up. Neither happily nor haply," he added, without mentioning Abella.

In audio and video recordings of a Mindanao Hour briefing on Friday, Abella — asked about Delos Santos' killing — could be heard saying that the incident "happily I think is isolated."

A transcript of Abella's statement that later came out, however, noted Abella's wording as "haply," and not "happily."

According to the Oxford dictionary, "haply" is an archaic word defined as "by any chance" and "perhaps."

On Saturday, the Palace official issued another statement, describing the slay of Kian as a "challenge" to law enforcement officers to be more cautious of a heedless exercise of authority. — John Ted Cordero/MDM, GMA News