Slain NBI agent's son celebrates birthday at father's wake

MANILA, Philippines - The son of a National Bureau of Investigation agent, killed during a robbery in Tondo, Manila, celebrated his 10th birthday beside his father’s coffin at the NBI headquarters in Manila yesterday.

Special Investigator Gil Yanesa was on his way home, laden with groceries and toys for his son, Nicolai Kent, when four or five robbers declared a heist in the jeepney he was riding last Nov. 9. He put up a fight, but one robber stabbed him and another grabbed Yanesa’s gun and shot him. The robbers continued stabbing him as other passengers scampered out of the jeepney.

At Yanesa’s wake, his former colleagues at the NBI-Research and Analysis Division brought a cake for Nicolai Kent, nicknamed “Nico.” Spaghetti, hotdogs and ice cream were also served for Nico’s birthday.  

The chapel where Yanesa’s coffin lay was adorned with white balloons, and a Philippine flag was placed on top of the slain agent’s white coffin.

Yanesa’s widow, Hirdiolyn, attended to the well-wishers for their only son.

Yanesa’s officemates said the victim told them he would send the toys and food to his wife and son in Limay, Bataan, where he moved them after he transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping, Hijacking and Armed Robbery Division (AKHARD) in 2007.

The NBI said a 12-year-old boy, who is part of the robbery gang, witnessed the killing along Radial 10. The boy identified the robbers who killed Yanesa, but the NBI refused to reveal their identities.

The NBI said the suspects belong to a gang whose pose as beggars, jump into public utility vehicles, wipe passengers’ shoes and then ask for money.

The witness served as the gang’s pointman, identifying possible victims.

The boy said he knew all the suspects because they are his neighbors at Radial 10, and that Yanesa’s killers have killed several jeepney passengers who put up a fight.