Why should someone be killed just because they are accused of peddling illegal drugs?

This is the question of Jennilyn Olayres, whose husband was killed more than a week ago due to his alleged involvement in the narcotics trade.

Olayres' partner, 30-year-old pedicab driver Michael Siaron, was shot dead by motorcycle-riding men while he was waiting for passengers past midnight of July 22 in Pasay City.

The widow will bury her husband on Sunday.

Olayres admitted her husband was a drug user but said it is impossible that he was a dealer because they were too poor and could barely pay for their next meal.

"Alam ko po na biktima iyung asawa ko ng pagiging isang user. Pero ni minsan po, kahit katiting po na magtinda ng shabu, hindi niya po nagawa," she told radio DZMM.

"Kaya kahit anong halukay ko po sa utak ko kung ano iyung dahilan bakit po nila ginawa iyun sa asawa ko."

Sa bahay na ito sa Sto. Niño sa Pasay nakatira ang napatay na umano'y tulak sa larawang mala-Pieta |@zhandercayabyab pic.twitter.com/PHgOgQz4NC

— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) August 1, 2016

Before he was gunned down, Siaron helped out at his father's fruit stall before returning to his job at Pasay Rotonda in EDSA and Taft Avenue.

Olayres said she was waiting for her husband's return when a friend called out that he had been shot.

Recalling how she found her husband, she said: "Hindi na ako nagtanong kung bakit, talagang tumakbo na ako hanggang doon sa Rotonda. Tinakbo ko na lang nang naka-paa ako at naka-sando."

"Nakahandusay na siya. Inisip ko nga kung paano nila ginawa, bakit, anong dahilan."

Photojournalists at the scene captured heart-wrenching photos of Olayres cradling Siaron's lifeless body. Beside his corpse was a cardboard sheet with the word "pusher" written on it.

Inquirer captioned one such photo by Raffy Lerma, "La Pieta," after the famous sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti of the sorrowful Mary holding the dead body of Jesus.

ABC-CBN’s Basilio Sepe, meanwhile, took a shot of the sorrowful moment from a higher angle conveying the helplessness of the couple.

'MELODRAMATIC'

President Rodrigo Duterte, whose ascent to office was heralded by the deaths of hundreds of suspected drug dealers, branded the photos of Olayres "melodramatic."

"And you are portrayed in a broadsheet na parang Mother Mary cradling the dead cadaver of Jesus Christ. Eh 'yang mga 'yan, magka-dramahan tayo dito," Duterte said in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 25.

"Ilang beses ko na sinabi, sa Davao, huwag mong gawin, kasi magkakaproblema tayo. He who is the cause of the cause is the cause of them all. Ikaw 'yung nag-umpisa, you swallow," he added.

What Duterte said on photos of slain drug suspect

Some 316 suspected drug dealers were killed from July 1-27, 195 of which were vigilante killings, according to police. Human rights groups estimate the body count to be at least double the official number.

Duterte previously promoted the vigilante killings and has yet to condemn them.

'KILL DRUGS, NOT PEOPLE'

In a report by Reuters, Olayres said she has one message for Duterte: "Kill drugs, not people."

"They must kill the ones who don't deserve to live anymore, the ones who are a menace to society. Because they cause harm to others. But not the innocent people," she said.

"I don't need the public's sympathy. I don't need the President to notice us. I know that he doesn't like this kind of people. But for me, I just hope that they get the true offenders."

A DZMM report said Olayres is still soliciting money for the funeral expenses of her husband. She said Pasay Mayor Antonio Calixto has also pledged financial help for the burial.

Labi ng lalakeng binaril at nakuhanan ng larawang mala-Pieta, nakaburol sa barangay hall sa Pasay @DZMMTeleRadyo pic.twitter.com/2bpqeiq7CK

— Zhander Cayabyab (@zhandercayabyab) July 31, 2016

Siaron left behind a child from a previous marriage. -- With reports from Czar Dancel, Reuters; Zhander Cayabyab, DZMM