Boy Killed in Bato’s ‘Oplan Tokhang’ Remembered: ‘Binata na sana siya ngayon’

Almost a decade ago, a stray bullet ended the dream of nine-year-old Lenin Baylon to become a teacher after he was killed during a crossfire between unknown gunmen and two alleged drug suspects in Caloocan City.

Lenin was killed on December 2, 2016—just three days before his 10th birthday. His death occurred six months into then-President Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal war on drugs.

“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, Lenin’s father, said.

Rodrigo recalled his son’s death after his family finally obtained his right death certificate almost 10 years after his death.

“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,” he said.

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”.

Images courtesy of IDEALS, Inc. FB page