TWELVE minors were rescued while three others were arrested by the Lapu-Lapu Police during a hazing rite under the Young Blood Gangster.
The minors, aged 12 to 15, four of them females, are now at the Home Care Center of the Lapu-Lapu City Government.
PO1 Brilyn Zozobrado of Police Station 2 said a concerned citizen from Barangay Mactan called last Sunday night to inform them about an initiation rite led by three men inside an abandoned house in Sitio Bagong Silangan.
The responding team arrived and arrested the three men.
Arrested were Charlie Degamo, 19, a Grade 9 student in Mactan; Jevan Enecita, 21, jobless; and Jomari Sulit, 21, a scrap metal shop worker and the alleged founder of the Young Blood Gangster.
Confiscated from them was a wooden paddle with the gang’s name carved on it.
Sulit, who is Tagalog speaking, said their gang now has 30 members.
“Hindi man kami nag-recruit. Sumasama lang naman sila (minors) sa amin (We’re not recruiting them; they were just tagging along),” said Sulit, who has a burn mark on his right hand signifying his membership in the group.
Degamo’s parents, on the other hand, went to the Lapu-Lapu Police Station 2 to try to ask the arresting officer to release their son who was absent from school that day.
“Nadala lang kos kabuang. Nagmahay gyud ko (I was just influenced. I regretted it),” said Degamo, who companions say was the one who beat up the minors during the initiation rites.
Degamo’s mother, Christine, was teary-eyed when she said she didn’t have an idea her forth son was deeply involved with a gangster, saying he only thought he was just tagging along with some friends.
Enecita, on the other hand, denied any involvement in any fraternity or gang, saying he was just drinking near where the initiation took place.
Under the Ant-Hazing Act of 2018, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte, the punishment for hazing or torture of a fraternity neophyte is punishable with with reclusion perpetua or a fine of P3 million. (FVQ)