Thursday, October 16, 2008 55 minors rounded up in Carbon
AT least 55 minors were taken to the Cebu City Market Operations Division yesterday after they were rounded up by the office of Administrator Raquel Arce.
The operation, she said, will continue today and in succeeding days. It will also be done in other public markets of the city.
Launched for the first time yesterday, the rounding up of minors in Carbon was part of Arce’s effort to rid the market of young offenders like snatchers and rugby users.
Among those captured and brought to her office was a three-year-old child whose vendor-parents Arce said failed to supervise her.
“Daghan mga anak og vendors unya naglibod-suroy lang diri kay ang mga ginikanan wala man kaatiman kay nangita’g kwarta. Mao lagi na, nanginabuhi para naay kwarta para sa mga anak, pero mga bata napasagdan (Many children just roam the market, abandoned by their parents who are busy making a living),” Arce said.
Petty crimes
She said minors are often the suspects in petty crimes committed in Carbon, prompting them to finally address the situation.
The children were brought to her office, where they were given a bath, food, and new clothes. At least 38 of them were claimed by their parents while five were sent to the Pari-an Drop-in Center.
Twelve were brought by a social worker to the Community Scout Rehabilitation Youth and Guidance Center at the North Reclamation Area.
Arce said they had a difficult time taking the minors with them because the children initially resisted.
“Gisulti-an man mi sa social workers nga dili gyud pasakitan, kung mulugnot gakson ra. Dili man diay lalim (We were told not to harm them, if they resist we were told to hug them),” she told Sun.Star Cebu.
She said she interviewed a few children after they were given food and was told that some went voluntarily.
Arce said they will continue the operation in Carbon until all children who victimize buyers are all captured or driven away.
More brazen
She said juvenile offenders have become more brazen, often taunting persons in authority like barangay tanods, because they are protected under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
The law sets at 15 years old the maximum age of exemption from criminal liability. Minors above 15 are exempt from criminal liability and subjected to an intervention program unless he or she “acted with discernment.”
Once a child is taken into custody and is determined to be 15 years old or younger, authorities should immediately release him to the custody of his parents, guardian, or nearest relative. (RHM)
