Mother of teen killed in 2016 police op shares her son's story, recounts his death

Resolute, but brought to tears more than once, Mariza Hamoy recounted the night in August 2016 when she lost her son forever—and the days they spent afterwards trying to find him and get his body back.

At a hearing on Thursday of the Truth Commission—an independent civil society organization that lets the families of drug war victims share their loved ones' stories—Hamoy said she wanted to share the story of what happened to her 17-year-old son Darwin, or Dandan as they called him.

"Ako po mismo lumapit para isaysay ko po yung nangyari sa anak ko, para marinig po sa lahat kung sino ako at ang nabiktima kong anak," she began.

(I have come forward to tell you what happened to my son, so that everyone will know the story of who I am and what happened to my child.)

Responsible child

Mariza, who works as a street sweeper, said that she and her construction worker husband could rely on Dandan to take care of the house while they were working.

"Yung anak ko po, si Darwin Hamoy, mabait, masipag, matiyaga, maasikaso po sa bahay," she said.

(My son, Darwin Hamoy, was kind, hard-working, diligent, and took care of things around the house.)

With her two eldest children being working students at the time, Darwin was one who could be relied on to cook and clean the house, and watch over his younger sibling.

Dandan studied through home study on Saturdays and worked during the week to support his family. His mother said he was good at math, and could be relied on when buying the family's food supply at the palengke.

On the night of August 15, 2016, Mariza, her husband, and Dandan went to the wake of another street sweeper's husband in their neighborhood of Payatas, Quezon City. At around 10:45 p.m., Dandan asked if he could go outside and down the hillside.

Two hours later, they heard loud gunshots, also downhill from where they were. They went home, but Mariza's husband stayed out to look for Dandan.

He went to the area where the shots were heard, and described the place looking as if a flood had gone through it. He approached a home nearby where he knew the owner had been celebrating his birthday. But he could only hear the sound of an electric fan, and he grew afraid.

He left but returned a little later, whereupon he learned that a shooting had taken place and that Dandan had been there.

“May mga tao nang lumabas, may mga tsismisan na doon na isa pa pala yung anak ko doon, nasama si Dandan Hamoy, na nangyari yung patayan yung gabi na yun,” Mariza said.

(Some people came out and there was talk that my son had been one of the people shot during the fatal shooting that happened there.)

Searching

Mariza's husband went home and couldn't bring himself to tell her what he feared. He told her Dandan could be sleeping at a friend's house. But a few hours later a friend of the family, in tears, told her that Dandan was among the ones caught in the shooting.

Mariza went to the barangay hall and asked to see photos of the incident. There she found a photo of Dandan, with a bullet hole in his chest.

She went home, got dressed, and made the rounds of hospitals and funeral homes, trying to find him.

Eight days later, she found his remains at a funeral home in Kamuning.

She said the police spot report described Dandan as an unidentified male and indicated that the incident was a buy-bust operation. But she said Dandan had no involvement in illegal drugs.

Mariza found out that just before the incident, the neighbor asked her son to buy cigarettes. When he returned, the police showed up and without preamble started firing.

Dandan was shot in the foot and cursed at the police. The police, according to the account told to Mariza, then said, "Tuluyan natin ito para malinis" then went in and killed him.

(Let's finish this so it's clean.)

Dandan's death occurred just weeks into the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, whose time as the country's chief executive was marked by police killings of thousands of Filipinos—mostly poor ones like Dandan, and some also children like him.

Justice denied

Mariza filed complaints and gave statements to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the PNP Internal Affairs Service (IAS). The case was later transferred to the Ombudsman.

She said the Office of the Ombudsman dismissed the case and her motion for reconsideration was also denied. The IAS case was eventually transferred to the Office of the President but was also dismissed, she added

Mariza said other complainants who had initially joined her later withdrew from the case.

She also recounted the repeated arrests of her husband on drug-related charges following Darwin’s death. She said one person even offered to help secure her husband’s release if she withdrew her complaint, but her husband urged her to continue pursuing justice for their son.

During the session, forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun presented documents, photographs, and findings related to Dandan's case.

She said he was among seven bodies examined during an exhumation in 2021, five years after his death.

Fortun raised concerns about the police documentation of the incident, including the handling and removal of bodies from the crime scene.

“Ang daming tanong dito. Like halimbawa, wow, merong scene of crime examination worksheet, sketch…. Hindi ko makita kung nasaan yung legend. Ano yung mga tinuturo-turo doon…Tapos kapag tinignan mo, nasaan yung mga katawan? Wala,” she said.

(There are so many questions. For instance, there's a scene of the crime examination worksheet, sketch...but I can't find the legend. What are these showing? And where is the body on the sketch? It's not there.)

“There is a proper way to handle people, whether injured or dead…Apparently, dinala nilang lahat. Kaya naman pala yung ating crime scene sketch ay walang laman, walang katawan. Dinala lahat para ano?” she added.

(Apparently, they took everything. That's why there's nothing in the crime scene sketch, no bodies. They took everything away for what?)

She said that the police report described the incident as a buy-bust operation involving multiple deaths and one injured, but other people claimed it was a shooting incident at a birthday party.

Fortun also noted problems with the identification and death certificates of the victims, including incomplete information and documentation indicating gunshot wounds.

She also pointed out that the victims had been shot in parts of the body where it meant that the police were aiming for the "vital organs."

"Doon sa report ng PNP, eventually na-autopsy sila. Yung lima, ang daming tama. Talagang gunshot wounds with an ‘S.’ Tatlo sa trunk, katawan, body. Dalawa, hindi lang trunk, meron pang ulo,” she said.

(In the PNP report, they were eventually autopsied. Five of them had so many gunshots. Gunshots, with an S. Three were shot in the trunk, the body. Two were not just shot in the trunk, but in the head.)

“Kapag ikaw tinamaan mo yung isang tao sa ulo at sa trunk [When you shoot someone in the head and the trunk], you're really aiming for vital organs. And most likely, they were already dead and should not have been removed from the scene to be brought to the hospital. Because why? You destroyed the evidence,” she added. — BM, GMA News