DSWD wants custody of minor girl suspect in Norwegian's slay

CEBU, Philippines - The police will be compelled to turn over custody of the 16-year old girl who is one of the accused in the killing of a Norwegian national last week in Consolacion town to the department of Social Welfare and Development.

Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo, DSWD legal counsel, said the petition for a writ of habeas corpus was already filed before the Mandaue City Trial Court yesterday to compel the Consolacion police to turn over the girl to the custody of the agency.

The writ of habeas corpus is a legal action, through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him or herself, or of another person. It protects the individual from being harmed by the judicial system.

The girl, who is charged with murder along with two others, Nisil Mate Ceriales, 35, and Cherryl Mate Nocete, 38, is still under the custody of the Consolascion police but will soon be under the custody of the DSWD once the court grants the writ.

Under Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, law enforcers are required to turn over immediately or not later than eight hours a minor who is arrested, to the DSWD or its accredited non-government organization.

The DSWD is supposed to explain to the child or his/her parents the situation for counseling and rehabilitation, or “diversion” activities from the criminal justice system, as needed.

Carillo said the DSWD would also help the suspects through psycho-social intervention.

The 51-year-old Norwegian Nils Aksnes Frodei Stein died Monday last week after he was stabbed by one of four persons, two of them are minors, claiming they were taken hostage by the foreigner inside the latter’s house in Consolacion town, 13 kilometers north of Cebu City.

Stein, who was living with his nine-year-old daughter in Grant Ville Subdivision, Jugan, Consolacion, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Eversley Child Sanitarium and Hospital in Mandaue City after the alleged hostage-taking and stabbing around 4:30 a.m. on July 20. — Jasmin R. Uy/WAB   (THE FREEMAN)