CinemaBravo

Nearly ten years since he was tragically killed by a stray bullet, the family of Lenin Baylon—one of the youngest victims of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs—has finally received his corrected death certificate.

Lenin, who was only nine years old at the time, died on December 2, 2016, just three days before his 10th birthday. The Grade 3 student was caught in a crossfire between unidentified assailants and two alleged drug suspects in Caloocan City, six months into the anti-drug campaign of then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

His father, Rodrigo Baylon, continues to mourn the loss of his son, who once dreamed of becoming a teacher.

“Gusto niyang buhay, makatapos at makapagturo sa mga batang kapus-palad. Lagi niyang sinasabi tutulong siya kahit wala na nanay niya, siya mag-aalaga sa akin,” Rodrigo shared.

(He wanted to live, graduate, and teach underprivileged children. He always said he would help even without his mother around—he would take care of me.)

Now 18 years old if he had survived, Lenin would have been entering adulthood.

“Sa wakas nakamit din namin ang katotohanan. Ang puso ko’y masaya at malungkot nang sabay. Dapat sana’y binata, 18 na taon na siya ngayon. Kung pwede ko lang buhayin at kausapin si Lenin, para masabi sa kanyang unti-unti na nating nakakamit ang hustisya,” said Rodrigo.

(At last, we have found the truth. My heart feels happy and sad at the same time. He would have been a young man now, 18 years old. If only I could bring Lenin back to life and talk to him, to let him know that we are slowly achieving justice.)

Unable to pay the P16,000 autopsy fee, Baylon’s family was forced to sign a waiver agreeing to list bronchopneumonia – instead of gunshot wound — as the victim’s cause of death.

In 2019, the Baylon family started receiving legal assistance from the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS), allowing them to pursue the truth behind his death.

In 2022, Court of Appeals (CA) ruled Lenin’s father, Rodrigo Baylon had been coerced into signing the false death certificate and ordered the correction. Two years after the ruling, the Baylon family finally received the corrected document.

At the time of Lenin’s death, then-Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa was the chief architect of the Duterte administration’s war on drugs, known as “Oplan Tokhang”.

When asked about the death of 3-year-old Myca Ulpina during a drug war operation, Dela Rosa merely remarked “shit happens”.