The townmates in Bataan province of a drug mule executed in China on Thursday expect his remains to arrive in his hometown of Orion on Sunday or Monday.
The man’s neighbors said they would light candles and offer prayers in their village as a sign of respect and mourning for their townmate.
Raul Reyes, 55, a neighbor, vouched for the dead man’s good character. “He was always ready to help the needy. He was a good kid. I don’t know why this happened to him,” Reyes said.
Neighbors said the man used to give medical assistance to poor residents of Bataan through a government relief agency before he went abroad.
Local officials declined to reveal the identity of the man at the request of his relatives. Greg Refraccion, Inquirer Central Luzon