The body of a 14-year-old boy believed to have been beaten to death by a "rugby user" who is also a minor, was found in a deserted lot in Bacolod City yesterday, the police said.

John Ray Jalando-on of 6th Street, Brgy. 17, Bacolod City, a Grade 1 pupil at the Andres Bonifacio Elementary School 1, was found dead by a trisikad driver in an abandoned lot at 21st Street, Bacolod City after two minors, who said they saw a 14-year-old boy kill the victim, told him about Jalando-on's body.

Jalando-on suffered multiple wounds including ones on the back of his head and on his neck, police investigators said.

The suspect, whose name is being withheld by the DAILY STAR, was still at large as of press time yesterday, PO3 Julius Lagon of the Police Station 2 said.

The two minors, whose names are also being withheld, said that Jalando-on was on his way home at about 10 p.m. Thursday after staying near a restaurant at 21st Street when the suspect put his arm around him and led him to the deserted property.

"He brought (Jalando-on) there. He must have hit him with a bottle because we heard a bottle shatter. Then we saw him kick him. He then struck him with a big stone twice," the teenagers, aged 11 and 13, said.

They added that the suspect then dragged Jalando-on's body to a dark area in the same vacated lot and covered the blood near his body with sand.

The suspect then told them to go home and not to tell anybody about the incident, the minors said.

'GOOD CHILD'

Jalando-on's mother, Leilani, 36, said that she cannot accept what happened to John Ray as he was a "good child" who helped their family make ends meet by selling recycled clothes to jeepney drivers.

She said she did not allow him to play at a computer café but the teenager left their house at about 8 p.m. Thursday, she said he usually goes home late.

It was then only through radio reports that they learned about his death yesterday, she said.

John Ray's father, Norberto, 48, said he cannot understand why the suspect killed his son because he was "just a small kid" as he hugged the body in a funeral parlor yesterday. The family said that they will file charges against the suspect after John Ray's body is autopsied.

Jalando-on's teacher, Lira Galino, on the other hand, said that the minor had missed class since Monday.

'WELL-LOVED'

Meanwhile, Alma Borbon, vice president of the Andres Bonifacio Elementary School Teachers' League, said that one way to avoid what had happened to Jalando-on is for parents to take care of their children.

"You cannot be a parent if you don't know how to take care of your children," Borbon said.*PP

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