They perform as a choir that is both an act of protest against the internationally condemned campaign, and a key element in their community's effort to keep these children from being gunned down too.
It is a poor place that sprouted up decades ago around a sprawling trash dump where scavenging is the local industry. When the drug war started, Pilario and other locals rushed in to help families cover the costs of the spate of funerals -- there were some 100 killings in under a year. A long-term programme is now in place that includes music, art and dance classes for the boys and girls, as well as the Oyayi Sa Unos choir.
"I'm tired, poor, beaten down and bewildered... Looking for those with sympathy in their hearts to give," part of the opening verse says.