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Saturday, July 19, 2008
Child abuse raps filed vs PAF men
DAVAO CITY -- Police authorities filed charges against two members of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) for allegedly abusing a six-year-old child whom they caught playing inside the PAF compound in Sasa, Davao City.
The filing of the case came amid a growing clamor for justice for the young boy from children's rights groups.
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Manuel Doria and Rex Del Dimaculangan of the Tactical Operations Group were charged with physical injuries under Republic Act 7610 (Special Protection for Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination) based on the complaint of the victim's father, a civilian employee of the Tactical Operations Group 11.
In an affidavit, the father of the victim said he was still at the PAF compound around 8:30 p.m. of July 8 when he heard his son's cry.
Looking around, he saw his son near the two men whom he later identified as the accused.
He rushed to his son's side and noticed that the suspects, who have just alighted from a taxi, were drunk. They could hardly keep their balance, he said.
The two men just stared at him when he asked what happened.
The boy did not also say anything and so he just told his son to go home.
It was only in the evening of the following night at his brother's house when they discovered the injuries on the boy's abdomen.
When asked, the boy said he was burned with cigarettes by the two men.
He said his immediate response was to report the incident to the police, but he was advised to wait for the men's commanding officer.
The victim's father said they reported the incident to the police after they were able to get a medico-legal report on his son's injuries.
In July 14, he said his son pinpointed who hurt him during the flag-raising ceremony at the compound.
The suspects remain at large.
Meanwhile, a children's rights group condemned the abuse inflicted by two PAF personnel on the six-year-old child.
In a statement issued Friday, Salinlahi Alliance for Children's Concerns said the act was inhumane.
"What the soldiers did to the child was inhumane. Whatever the child may have done, it is not fit to punish him in such a cruel manner," Alphonse Rivera, Salinlahi spokesperson, said.
He added: "The act of burning him [with cigarettes] will not only leave a scar on his body but also in his mind which he will carry throughout his life."
The group called for due penalties for the abusers, saying they have deviated from their supposed role of protecting the people as part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The AFP meanwhile is mum on the incident, saying only that the two air force personnel were being investigated for what they did. (Rhodamae M. Hernandez and Grace L. Plata of Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (July 19, 2008 issue)
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