A re-look at the law

Councilors and especially the mayor of my city continue to criticize the law that Senator Pangilinan has authored, shielding minors, age 15 and below from any criminal prosecution. I myself, criticize this same law for they allow minors to go scotch free whenever they commit some grave wrong. This same law is made an alibi by young delinquents immediately claiming minority when apprehended for some criminal act. I experienced first hand how this law giving immunity to minors have favored the delinquents and left the victims without remedy. I was consulted by a crying mother whose 4 year old daughter was raped, twice, by a 13 year old boy. She was told by PAO lawyers that she cannot lodge any complaint since the accused, being a minor, cannot be prosecuted. The accused, not the victim, is protected by the law. Sadly, I can give the same advice. But to console her, as I really dearly wanted to, I just endorsed her to the IGDD and Womynet. These government institutions assist in issues affecting abuses and violence against women and children.

Here's a news related to these sentiments I have written...

Drug addict stabs girl dead in Davao

MANILA, Philippines - A drug addict was arrested for the brutal killing of a 6-year-old girl inside the victim's home in Isla Suerte, Times Beach in Davao City on Tuesday night.

Senior Police Officer 3 Reynaldo Estares of the Davao City Police Office identified the victim as Jermain Mandagway while the suspect was named as Jason "Ton-Ton" Policarpio, residents of Isla Suerte.

Estares said that according to the girl's mother, Marcosa, said she left Jermain with her older sister Genalyn and another sibling asleep inside their house.

She said that according to Genalyn, she woke up around 9 p.m. and went out of their house to look for another sibling.

Marcosa said when she returned home, she noticed that their front door was not locked and when she checked on her children she saw Jermain already lying in a pool of blood.

Police investigators said Jermain died of 6 stab wounds in the abdomen. They said the child's intestines were leaking out of her damaged stomach when rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Estares said a witness told them that he saw Policarpio enter the Mandagway's house. He said that the suspect initially denied the allegation, but later confessed to the crime.

He said that the suspect admitted that he was high on drugs when he repeatedly stabbed dead the girl.

The suspect also pointed to the police where he threw the knife that he used in the murder. – Report from ABS-CBN Southern Mindanao as of 02/24/2010 9:04 AM