"All little boys are nice until they get older." - Robert Thompson
Two boys admitted to raping and sodomizing 7-year old Clarissa Pizzara at an open field in Barangay San Dionisio on 20 February 2012, then drowning her in a creek when she kept crying.
The 13-year-old is exempted under RA 9344 (Juvenile Justice Act of 2006) from criminal prosecution. The other accused, being 17 years old, may be detained and prosecuted, but only if the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) determines that he acted with discernment. The last part is a no-brainer unless the DSWD plays stupid and will literally believe that the accused did not know what he was doing.
The objective of the juvenile law is noble, but instead of protecting the rights of innocents like Clarissa it is excusing the behavior of animals who are aged 13 and 17 years. These evil youths and their guardians or parents do not deserved the protection of a civilized world. They should be made to suffer and accountable for their crimes.
Everyone with sane mind would agree with me when I say crime against children should be considered an abhorrent crime. They are perceived within their communities and the state at large as being vulnerable, and therefore especially susceptible to abduction and murder. The protection of children from abuse and possible death, therefore, should be considered a priority and punishment against perpetrators should be merciless.
Although the Philippines certainly has a small number of killings of children by other children, it is most often the case that the perpetrators and victims are teenagers, rather than young children. In such cases, the government needs to look again at the merits of RA 9344 and put these 'oxygen-wasting' youthful perpetrators on trial as an adult for their crime.
It is time to give justice to the likes of Clarissa Pizzara.
Two boys admitted to raping and sodomizing 7-year old Clarissa Pizzara at an open field in Barangay San Dionisio on 20 February 2012, then drowning her in a creek when she kept crying.
The 13-year-old is exempted under RA 9344 (Juvenile Justice Act of 2006) from criminal prosecution. The other accused, being 17 years old, may be detained and prosecuted, but only if the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) determines that he acted with discernment. The last part is a no-brainer unless the DSWD plays stupid and will literally believe that the accused did not know what he was doing.
The objective of the juvenile law is noble, but instead of protecting the rights of innocents like Clarissa it is excusing the behavior of animals who are aged 13 and 17 years. These evil youths and their guardians or parents do not deserved the protection of a civilized world. They should be made to suffer and accountable for their crimes.
Everyone with sane mind would agree with me when I say crime against children should be considered an abhorrent crime. They are perceived within their communities and the state at large as being vulnerable, and therefore especially susceptible to abduction and murder. The protection of children from abuse and possible death, therefore, should be considered a priority and punishment against perpetrators should be merciless.
Although the Philippines certainly has a small number of killings of children by other children, it is most often the case that the perpetrators and victims are teenagers, rather than young children. In such cases, the government needs to look again at the merits of RA 9344 and put these 'oxygen-wasting' youthful perpetrators on trial as an adult for their crime.
It is time to give justice to the likes of Clarissa Pizzara.