The fish vendor who got hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) during the attack by the New People’s Army of a Lapanday Food Corporation plant in Mandug on April 29 died yesterday.
Doctors at the Southern Philippines Medical Center confirmed that Larry Timbal Buenafe, the fish vendor, expired at 5:00 o’clock in the morning of Thursday, after five days in coma, due to his head injury when an IED exploded while traversing Barangay Tigatto in his motorcycle last April 29.
On Thursday afternoon, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio expressed her grief in an official statement released by the Office of the City Information.
“It is a sad day for Davao City. I am sorry we lost Larry, a victim of delusional people living in an alternate universe who are now celebrating their so-called victory against oppression,” she wrote.
In her statement, she said that the people behind Buenafe’s death were the people “who think that it will make a difference if they punish the Lorenzos by burning their factories,” in relation to the burning of the Lapanday Foods Corporation plant on the same day Larry got hit by the IED.
“It did make a difference, but definitely not to the Lorenzos because their wealth is still there, tucked safety somewhere. Of course, their business issues do not in any way affect their lives.”
She also said that their so-called fight for social justice only victimized Larry, who is a father and the sole breadwinner of their family, and affected the plant employees who are now jobless.
“The attacks on Saturday and the death of Larry today should always remind us of the twistedness of an ideology and the monsters behind it, how they employ fear and terror in their attempt to cloak their insignficance and the absolencence of their political belief,” the mayor said.
The mayor also in her statement that on Saturday morning, she called Ruth, Buenafe’s wife and informed her that he was in the hospital.
“The couple never had a chance to talk because Larry fell into a coma. Earlier that day, one of the last text messages that Larry received from Ruth was a one-liner ‘I love you.’ The message was unread. Ruth never received any reply.”
Buenafe’s remains are currently in St. Peter Funeral Homes in Panacan, Davao City.
