Random Critique

Critical Evaluation of Different Subject Matters

This is the worst news that I've heard about crimes involving minors. An 11 year old girl (orphan) was raped at a vacant lot at Monteverde Street, Davao City. She was stabbed and left there to die. However, it was not yet her time. She struggled to cross the street despite her stab wounds. She reached the front of a bank where an employee of DTI was able to see her. The security guard of the bank helped her. I was told that her woulds were serious that her internals can be seen by your naked eye. She struggled to keep it intact. They said that her blood was nearly drained. Apparently, her genital was inserted with a cola bottle. The girl recounted that she should have died at the vacant lot, but her mother waked her up. Upon reaching the bank, she was also ready to die, but again, her mother waked her up. It wasn't her time to die. My question is, would it have been better if she died? Justice will not be served because of the existing law that exempts criminal liability to persons below 15 years old. The four suspects have been identified: Mike, 16yrs old, Jerry, 11yrs old, John, 12yrs old, and Dennis, 12yrs old. They are now in custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Three of them are below 15 years of age! How can justice be served? If that girl was your sister or your daughter, what would you have done? I really hope that our senators will do something about this. They have too much blood on their hands already, especially the proponent of this law!

You can download a copy of this law at:
http://www.senate.gov.ph/republic_acts/RA%209344.pdf

Here is a section of the law:
SEC. 5. Rights of the Child in Cofict with the Law.
- Every cwd in conflict with the law shall have the following rights, including but not limited to:

(a) the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

(b) the right not to be imposed a sentence of capital punishment or life imprisonment, without the possibility of release;

(e) the right not to be deprived, unlawfully or arbitrary, of his/her liberty; detention or imprisonment being a disposition of last resort, and which shall be for the shortest appropriate period of time;

(d) the right to be treated with humanity and respect, for the inherent dignity of the person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of a person of his/her age. In particular, a child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adult offenders at, all times. No child shall be detained together with adult offenders. He/She shall be conveyed separately to or from court. He/She shall await hearing of his/her own case in a separate holding area. A child in conflict with the law shall have the right to maintain contact with his/her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances

(e) the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his/her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on such action;

(f) the right to bail and recognizance, in appropriate cases;

(g) the right to testify as a witness in his/her own behalf under the rule on examination of a child witness;

(h) the right to have his/her privacy respected fully at all stages of the proceedings;

(i) the right to diversion if he/she is qualified and voluntarily avails of the same;

(j) the right to be imposed a judgment in proportion to the gravity of the offense where his/her best interest, the rights of the victim and the needs of society are all taken into consideration by the court, under the principle of restorative justice;

(k) the right to have restrictions on hi/her personal liberty limited to the minimum, and where discretion is given by law to the judge to determine whether to impose fine or imprisonment, the imposition of fine being preferred as the more appropriate penalty;

(I) in general, the right to automatic suspension of
sentence;

(m) the right to probation as an alternative to imprisonment, if qualified under the Probation Law;

(n) the right to be free from liability for perjury, concealment or misrepresentation;