Kaibigan Foundation said Jefferson Bunuan wanted to become a policeman, to give justice for his father who was killed; he was also a volunteer of Lambat Sibat, a Philippine National Police crime prevention program.
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat
MANILA – As the government’s “war on drugs” continues to pile up bodies of drug suspects, various groups lambasted police operations, which, they said, do not spare innocent lives.
In a candle-lighting gathering in front of the Eulogio ‘Amang’ Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (Earist) on July 20, students expressed indignation over the death of their school mate, Jefferson Bunuan, 20, a criminology student who was killed with two others in a buy-bust operation in Sta. Ana, Manila on July 18.
The Katipunan ng Mag-aaral at Organisasyon (Kamao-Earist) urged President Rodrigo Duterte to act to stop the “unjust and senseless killings.”
“Pursue a just anti-drug campaign, resolve poverty as root cause of drug addiction and go after big drug syndicates in the country,” the student group said.
Killed with Bunuan were his cousin, Mark Anthony Bunuan, 18, and Jomar “Totong” Manaois, 20.
The Kaibigan Ermita Outreach Foundation Inc. (Keofi), a non-government organization, also condemned the killing of Bunuan, whom they had sponsored as a scholar for the past 11 years. They called on police to investigate “this unjust killing of innocent people.”
In their official Facebook account, Kaibigan Foundation called on police to “stop extra judicial killing and to follow due process and fair hearing on imposing anti-drug campaign.”
“According to Manila Police District Station 6 Chief Superintendent Robert Domingo, their main target was Jomar, but since Jefferson and Mark were there, they also shot them as they were suspected as Jomar’s ‘cohorts,’” the foundation said in their post.
Kaibigan Foundation said Bunuan wanted to become a policeman, to give justice for his father who was killed. Bunuan was also a volunteer of Lambat Sibat, a Philippine National Police crime prevention program.
The post has gone viral in social media with more than 7,000 shares. 
Photos by Kathy Yamzon
Meron ba kayong programa kung paano gagawing “makatarungan ang pagsugpo sa droga?” At paano bibigyan ng hustisya yong lahat ng biktima ng droga, syempre kasama na do’n yong mga drug dealers at mga pushers at mga drug lords, who made life miserable for you, your family, your friends, and the rest of the Filipinos, whose destiny has been altered forever? Kung meron, bakit hindi kayo mag request ng dialogue or audience with the proper authority and discuss your agenda with them? With the current administration’s promise to bring about change, I believe they will talk to you and listen to you. Do you think demonstrating on the street will solve the problem? Is it realistic at this point in time? I think it is too early to demonstrate your grievances. He is yet to deliver his first SONA and here you are already expressing your discontent for his administration! Unfair naman sa Presidente yon. This is not PNoy’s presidency anymore, remember? This is Duterte’s. A completely new and different presidency.
You are actually accusing the Police of perpetrating these alleged extrajudicial killings. It is unfair and biased against them whose job it is to protect you from the evil of illegal drugs. And you are actually making the impression that, notwithstanding the danger these law enforcers put their lives in, you seem to favor the other side. It’s unbelievable! Have you asked yourselves why these people died? What the consequences of their deaths were? How certain are you that the Police were in fact behind this heinous crime? Where are your proofs? You are making the accusations, therefore the burden of proof lies in you. That’s how it works. If it justice you want, then present your evidences so they can be put to trial. What you are doing is thriving on speculations. You practically devoid yourself of the opportunity to see things beyond hearsay. How many drug users and dealers have surrendered voluntarily so far? More than 65,000? Why are these surrenderees still alive and better yet given second chances and promised livelihood programs? How many drug lords have been identified, yet they are still alive, although their movement is restricted? Bakit hind na lang sila pagpapatayin lahat para wala nang problema? Right?
Dapat kayong mga kabataan, ang dapat gawin niyo, mag-aral na lang kayo. Listen to your parents. Make their sacrifices for you worthwhile. Don’t be influenced by those whose only intention is to radicalize you. Being young and vulnerable, they will use you. Mag-isip isip muna bago kayo mauto. Mga bata pa kayo. Marami pa kayong bigas na kakainin. Hindi na ito administrasyon ni PNoy. There are many changes to expect from the Duterte Administration. Changes that don’t just benefit one but everybody. But these changes will come into fruition only if we give our unconditional support to our President, not because we are coerced or influenced by what we see or hear, but because we trust him. Siguro naman, bilang isang dating mayor for 22 years, who transformed a notorious city into one of the safest in the world, a lawyer, and once an active prosecutor, I believe he knows what he is doing. Hindi ba kayo natutuwa, it’s barely a month into his presidency, a glimmer of the promised change is starting to manifest right under our noses? Would it be possible to achieve a full-spectrum of change in the future? Yes, if we give him the chance to do his job and prove his worth. Let us then work together and help him make the Philippines great again.