Slain student’s ma to robber: Why my son?

MANILA, Philippines - Fish vendor Roseviel Bodoy, 44, has so many questions in mind since her 17-year-old son was stabbed dead by a robber in Manila last week.

The most important question, she said, was, “Why my son?”

She last saw Renzo Rey alive on Sept. 8. He was riding a jeep toward the University of Manila, where he attended classes on hotel and restaurant management, when he was attacked.

To ease her pain, Roseviel said she would talk to her eldest child in his casket. She would ask him how he was doing and wish him happiness, wherever he may be.

“I told him, never stop smiling. People said one day I would be able to accept my son’s death. But I don’t think so,” Roseviel told The STAR.

No warning

Renzo Rey was minutes away from getting off the jeep when Richard Pring boarded the vehicle at about 6:30 a.m. and sat in front of Renzo Rey -- the only space available in the jeep packed with students.

A 27-year-old female passenger, now a witness in the case, said Pring did not announce a holdup so the passengers were not alerted.

She said Pring, who had earphones on, simply took the seat and removed the gadget from his ears. He tucked them into one of his pants pockets, took a knife from another pocket and grabbed Renzo Rey’s bag.

“The boy’s immediate reaction was to pull his bag closer to him. He was caught unaware because there was no verbal declaration of a holdup. Target just grabbed his bag,” said Senior Police Officer 2 Jonathan Bautista, the officer-on-case.

Pring, who goes by the alias Target, took Renzo Rey’s action as resistance and stabbed the boy in the chest.

The stab wound was so deep that doctors at Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center said it was as big as a P1 coin, according to Renzo Rey’s aunt, Lovella Hamblosa, 42.

Like an animal

The female passenger, who saw the commotion, immediately jumped off. Renzo Rey followed her but Pring chased the boy down the jeepney and stabbed him four more times in different parts of his chest.

“I could not forget the image of my dead son in the hospital. He had stab wounds all over his chest. He looked like an animal. How could he kill my son as if the boy were an animal?” Roseviel said.

“When I saw my son being wheeled out of the operating room, I kissed him and hugged him. Again and again. I knew that would be the last I would be able to kiss his body. I could never accept his death,” she added.

Roseviel wanted to avenge Renzo Rey’s death until Bautista and other Manila police officers were able to catch Pring in Caloocan.

“When I saw (Pring), I wanted to stab him too. I am not a bad person  but I want to stab him too. I want to make him suffer the way my son suffered. I’m so angry. But I couldn’t do it,” Roseviel said as she struggled to speak in between sobs.

The arrest gave Roseviel hope that justice, somehow, has been served – and served swiftly.

“I am grateful. Very grateful to the police,” she said.

Roseviel, who sells fish at the Zamora Market, said Renzo Rey grew up without a father. His only dream was to finish his studies so that one day he would help raise his two younger sisters, she said, but that dream died with him.

For Roseviel, she not only lost a child – she also lost her only son and constant companion.

“He was my confidant? Why did (Pring) kill him? We are poor, so poor,” she said.