Poet and broadcast personality Lourd de Veyra on Saturday expressed his sympathy over the death 17-year-old Kian de los Santos through his experimental jazz poetry recital.
De Veyra, a UST alumnus, read poems that satirically discussed the Duterte administration’s war on drugs and its social implications.
One of the poems read by de Veyra, titled “Price List,” tackled the government’s seeming disregard for human life in its pursuit to eradicate illegal drugs.
“Ang mamahal ng mga presyo ng bilihin […], pero ang tanong—bakit ang mura ng buhay?” he read from the poem.
Another poem read by de Veyra, titled “May Pulis sa Kanto Namin,” described the current methods of police operations.
“Sabi ng pulis sa kanto namin, ‘add kitang friend’ […], sabi niya meron lang kaming iimbestigahan,” he said. “Friends tayo, basta ‘wag ka lang manlalaban.”
De Veyra said the Duterte administration gave power to the police that could be abused and corrupted.
“Ang fear ko, kahit mawala siya (Duterte) andoon pa rin ‘yung impunity, siguro matagal mawawala ‘yun,” he said in an interview with the Varsitarian.
The slain senior high student Kian de los Santos was laid to rest at La Loma Cemetery in Caloocan last Aug. 26, Saturday, the same day as de Veyra’s performance.
Parents, relatives and friends have denied de los Santos was a drug courier, as alleged by Caloocan City police who killed the teenager during a drug raid last Aug. 16.
De Veyra is a three-time Palanca winner and has published eight books.
The event, organized by the Philippine PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Essayists and Novelists) was held at Solidaridad Bookstore in Manila.
