A MOTHER could not hide the anger after watching a closed circuit television (CCTV) footage showing her child, a student of Banilad High School, being assaulted by a group of teenagers in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City.
In a Facebook post by lawyer Juril Broka Patiño, the mother expressed fear and outrage after seeing the video, which showed her child being beaten by several teenagers.
She said the attackers appeared to be acting “for fun,” but what alarmed her most was the possibility that one of them was carrying a knife.
She was worried that her child could have been stabbed during the incident.
The mother also said that other students were reportedly victimized by the same group, which she claimed may be affiliated with a gang.
Barangay Banilad Captain Greg Yap said this was the first time such an incident had happened in their area, which he described as generally peaceful.
“If we had not checked the CCTV footage, we would not have known about the incident,” Yap said. “When we reviewed it, we saw around six teenagers loitering in the area.”
Yap noted that several people passed by during the assault but did not intervene.
Based on the footage, he observed that the teenagers appeared to be waiting for someone before the attack happened.
The barangay captain admitted that there was no tanod stationed at the area at the time because the incident happened quickly and police personnel had earlier been pulled out due to the Sinulog Festival.
“That is why there was no police presence at that time,” Yap said. “The place was crowded with students coming out, and everything happened suddenly.”
According to Yap, only one teenager was clearly seen hitting the victim at first, before the others joined in.
The assault happened outside the school premises, and the suspects immediately fled the scene.
Yap said he has already instructed that a formal complaint be filed so the barangay can legally summon the suspects and their parents, especially since those involved are minors aged around 12 to 15 years old.
“We cannot summon them without a complaint,” Yap said. “Once there is a complaint, we can call in the parents and the children so we can talk to them and find out what really happened.”
He added that he has already coordinated with the school principal to help identify the students involved and to check their backgrounds.
If the suspects are residents of Barangay Banilad, the barangay will be able to trace their parents.
Yap also expressed concern over the possible resurfacing of youth gangs, noting that some of the teenagers involved displayed aggressive behavior.
“These children are still juveniles. We cannot just detain them because that could put us in legal trouble,” he said. “That is why parental involvement and dialogue are very important.”
To prevent similar incidents, Yap said the barangay will deploy tanods to monitor the area and disperse groups of teenagers who loiter, especially during school dismissal hours.
He also requested police assistance to maintain peace and order in the area.
Investigations are ongoing as barangay officials await the filing of a formal complaint. (ABC)