A funeral home confirmed that one of the claimed victims of ‘Duterte drug war’ passed away in 2024, two years after former President Rodrigo Duterte left the office.
It can be recalled that ABS-CBN published the photo of the victim’s mother who attended a press conference to give their reaction to Duterte’s ICC trial.
However, several netizens who claimed to personally know the victim, said that he passed away in 2024, and not during the administration of Duterte.
The victim was identified as Ryan A. Barbacena, 24, who passed away on June 23, 2024, according to Jara Funeral Services.
In a statement, the funeral home insisted that the information they published was true and the post was not manipulated.
“Kami po ay private business na ang trabaho ay magbigay ng serbisyong ayon sa pangangailangan ng pamilyang namatayan. Kami rin po ay humihingi ng pahintulot sa pamilya bago kami nagpopost ng picture at funeral service set up ng namatay.
“Now yung date po na nakikita nyong ay tama naman po, June 2024 po sya namatay at July 2024 naman po namin na-ipost sa aming page. Ito ay hindi edited.
“Si Mr. Barbacena po ay namatay sa hospital at reported ito sa Caloocan City police.
Sa mga nagsasabi pong baka i-delete namin yung post, huwag po kayong mag-alala wala po kaming idedelete. Kung mawala man po ang post namin na ito or ang page namin yun ay dahil tinake down or nireport ito ng mga anti-Duterte.
“Inuulit po namin, kami po ay PRIBADONG BUSINESS. Yung phone numbers na nakikita nyo po sa tarpaulin ng namatay ay BUSINESS PHONE numbers po namin at hindi po PERSONAL PHONE numbers ng pamilya,”
As of writing, the Barbacena family has yet to give their reaction to the issue.
It can be recalled that if ICC found Duterte guilty, the victims listed on the charges would receive reparation.