Kin of slain Pinoy peacekeeper to get P2.7 M

The family of a Filipino peacekeeper killed in Haiti will receive P2.7 million in monetary benefits from the United Nations, the Philippine Mission to the UN said yesterday.

Ambassador Lauro Baja, the Philippines’ permanent representative to the UN, said the Philippine Mission was taking the necessary steps to facilitate the release of death benefits to the family of the late S/Sgt. Antonio Batomalaque.

The UN gives such compensation to peacekeepers who die in the line of duty

He said the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) informed the mission that Batomalaque’s family would receive $50,000.

Batomalaque was shot and killed on April 13 when gunmen attacked UN peacekeepers conducting security operations against gangs terrorizing residents in the seaside slum of Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince.

He was the third soldier killed since the UN deployed a peacekeeping force in Haiti last year. Although he was the 11th Filipino to die while serving on a UN peacekeeping mission, Batomalaque is believed to be the first killed by hostile fire.

The deaths of Filipino peacekeepers in Cambodia, East Timor, Liberia, Iraq, and Lebanon were attributed to either accidents or natural causes.