STRAIGHT to the point – Jarel Gelacio has become an icon of the failed peace and order campaign in Negros Occidental.
Jarel, a six-year-old boy from Sitio Inangao, Barangay Quintin Remo, Moises Padilla town, was struck by a stray bullet during a 10-minute gun battle between the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion and about 20 armed men believed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in nearby Sitio Matal-i, still within Quintin Remo, on Tuesday, October 28.
No one from either side — Army or NPA — was reported wounded.
Yet that brief morning skirmish between state forces and suspected rebels cost the life of an innocent boy who had barely begun to embrace the joys of childhood.
Truly pitiable.
GENEVA CONVENTION
Jarel’s death has reignited debates surrounding the 1952 Geneva Convention, to which the Philippines is a signatory.
Article 57 of the Convention states: “In the conduct of military operations, constant care shall be taken to spare the civilian population, civilians, and civilian objects.”
Brigadier General Jason Jumawan, commanding officer of the Army’s 302nd Infantry Brigade — under which the 62IB operates — acknowledged the relevance of the Geneva Convention but declined to accept immediate responsibility for Jarel’s death.
Instead, Jumawan urged the public not to rush to judgment.
He also expressed willingness to subject the bullet that struck Jarel’s head to ballistic testing to determine its origin — whether fired by the Army or the NPA.
MOTU PROPRIO
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has vowed to conduct a motu proprio investigation into the incident.
The Commission aims to determine who is truly accountable for Jarel’s death and what specific international humanitarian law may have been violated.
The Army, for its part, has promised to carry out its own probe, according to Jumawan.
Fine — we await the next developments.
Atty. Rey Gorgonio of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) – Negros Chapter described Jarel’s case as “unique,” saying it could serve as a potential precedent for filing charges in an international court, whether against the Army or the NPA.
He called the incident a product of “recklessness” on the part of either force.
Gorgonio has offered to serve as the Gelacio family’s legal counsel pro bono should they decide to file criminal charges later on.
A noble offer indeed.
COMEDY OF ERRORS
Jarel’s death is a shameful stain on Negros Occidental’s multimillion-peso peace efforts.
Records show that the provincial government allots P8 million annually for various peace initiatives. Governor Bong Lacson often boasts that peace-building under his administration has been gaining ground.
Capitol’s press releases and photo opportunities featuring rebel surrenderers regularly flood social media. The Army, meanwhile, repeatedly claims that the insurgency in Negros — both Occidental and Oriental — has been nearing its end since 2022. And yet, the tragic death of Jarel proves otherwise.
Neither the provincial government nor the Army can take pride in this. From any angle, the incident exposes the grim reality: insurgency remains a serious and unresolved problem on Negros Island.
Jarel’s case resembles a comedy of errors in the context of the province’s peace campaign. Whether they admit it or not, Jarel now stands as a symbol of failed peace initiatives.
So sad indeed.
UNDER GLOOMY SKIES
Jarel was laid to rest yesterday morning at the Moises Padilla Public Cemetery under gloomy skies.
Tears streamed down the faces of his parents and four siblings — unmistakable signs of deep grief.
The Gelacio couple, along with their 14-year-old and 9-year-old children who witnessed Jarel being struck in the head by a stray bullet, remain unsure of what to do next. They seem entirely dependent on the advice of others.
It is heartbreaking to see them — their helplessness and innocence palpable. Poor and barely literate, the Gelacio family lives in a remote mountain community, far from the comforts of civilization.
Thankfully, Moises Padilla mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo and Negros Occidental 5th District congressman Dino Yulo have stepped in to help the family cope with their tragedy.
Likewise, the town’s Social Welfare and Development Office, led by Kersey Sumadhay, is ready to provide psychosocial support to all surviving family members.
But such assistance, while appreciated, will never be enough.
The unseen wounds left by Jarel’s death are the hardest to heal — and may take a long time to fade.
‘BIG SLAP’
Questions linger:
* What future awaits the Gelacio family?
* Will justice for Jarel ever prevail?
I have doubts.
Given their poverty, they may only end up frustrated — unless some individual or group steps forward to help them pursue justice relentlessly.
If no one does, Jarel’s tragic death will likely become just another forgotten case, malubong na lamang sa limot.
But before Jarel fades into obscurity, his death has already delivered a big slap to both the provincial government and the Army’s vaunted peace campaign — jolting the public to see the real situation of insurgency in Negros.
Whether or not his story is soon forgotten, Jarel’s case leaves behind a crucial lesson for Governor Lacson to reflect on: Be sure where those millions of pesos for peace efforts truly go.
After all, no one can deny the sickness afflicting the province’s peace campaign — one that even an P8-million yearly budget cannot cure.
Lamentable, indeed./PN
