One boy dead. Another boy missing.
Friends Joshua Laxamana and Julius Santiago Sebastian were last seen over two weeks ago when they went on a trip to Baguio to take part in a DOTA tournament. None of them would make it back. (continued in thread)
Friends Joshua Laxamana and Julius Santiago Sebastian were last seen over two weeks ago when they went on a trip to Baguio to take part in a DOTA tournament. None of them would make it back. (continued in thread)
Four days later—Joshua's mother, Kristine, would find his son's bullet-riddled body at a morgue in Pangasinan. He had been killed by police.
Police claims Joshua had fought back against cops manning a checkpoint. He died on the spot. The police says he had a gun—a .45 calibre pistol—and a motorbike. They say that he was a notorious burglar in Pangasinan.
But Joshua couldn't even drive a motorbike—family and friends say. His mother says they don't even own a motorbike let alone afford one.
Kristine is a single mother to her three children and works several jobs just so she can support them. She did nails during the day, and sold banana cue in the street on her days off.
Joshua and Julius, both from Tarlac city, were avid DOTA players. Joshua was a top player in the region, set to compete internationally.
How could he have been some notorious burglar, her mother asks. She was witness to Joshua's passion and how hard he worked to achieve his dreams.
The police say they had found drugs on Joshua. They also presented to the media a tattoo on his arm, saying it was the mark of a notorious burglar. It wasn't. It was the Queen of Pain—one of the heroes in DOTA.
He was well known in Tarlac by his username "imadotes." His friends say it was because he loved his mother so much.
Joshua was 17 years old.
His friend, Julius is still missing. He is 15 years old.
