THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Monday, August 21, that a seven-year-old boy who was reported missing was among the 14 fatalities in the terrorist attack in Barcelona, Spain.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano ordered Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Sarah Lou Arriola to make sure that all possible assistance is extended to the family of the deceased and other Filipino victims of the incident.
"It pains us to break the sad news to our kababayans that we lost one of our own in the recent violence unleashed by extremists against the innocent in Barcelona," he said.
"We join the loved ones of our little brother in mourning his passing and in praying for the eternal repose of his soul," he added.
The father of the boy who flew to Barcelona identified the remains of his child, the DFA said, quoting Philippine Chargé d'Affaires Emmanuel Fernandez.
Fernandez said the victim's 43-year-old mother remains in the intensive care unit of a local hospital after undergoing surgery for fractures in both legs and one arm that she sustained in the incident.
Aside from the boy's mother, two other Filipinos based in Italy were among those injured when a van plowed through crowds gathered at the Las Ramblas tourist district last Thursday, August 17. (SDR/SunStar Philippines)