A mother’s plea, a city’s madness

Clarita Alia lost three of her children to the Davao Death Squad. Her youngest is fighting for his life.

The voice on the other end was trembling. “Sir, I really need your help.” The voice — soft, slightly stuttering, but harrowingly sad — was one of the most heart-rending I’ve ever heard. “My son has been stabbed,” the woman said, weeping now. “We’re now at the DMC (Davao Medical Center) and we have no money for medicine, for food. Please have mercy on us.”

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