9-year-old taxi burglar escapes brgy custody

CEBU, Philippines - A nine-year old notorious “car artist” was apprehended the other night in a follow-up operation by Barangay Labangon Tanods after a taxi driver reported that his taxi was forcibly opened and his earnings for the whole day stolen.

The child was eventually able to escape police custody.

Earlier, taxi driver Randy Ypil, of Canjulao, Lapu-Lapu City reported to the Labangon Barangay Hall on Thursday evening that his earnings were stolen by a boy.

Ypil reportedly parked his taxi near the corner of Katipunan and A. Lopez streets at around 7:30 p.m. to buy Lotto. When he returned, his taxi’s dashboard door was already open and his P1,000 plus earnings gone.

Ypil reported the incident at around 8 p.m. to the barangay authorities who immediately sent a team lead by barangay tanod Boy Alega to follow-up the incident.

The tanods went to the scene of the crime where a witness reported she saw two boys breaking into Ypil’s taxi. She recognized one of them only as a certain “Kano” who was known in the area to victimize taxis since 2009.

Tanod Ranato Vecena identified the boy and immediately went to the boy’s house where the boy was apprehended and brought to the barangay hall.

From the P1,000 plus earnings of Ypil, only a P100 bill was recovered from the boy’s pocket.

Kano was held inside the Labangon Barangay Hall until yesterday morning where he was fed and bathed by one of the tanods in preparation for turnover to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Unfortunately, during the commotion of another conflict inside the barangay hall, the boy was able to escape.

Vecena said it was not the first time the boy broke into a taxi as it was his second time to apprehend the boy. The fist was in 2009.

He added that since 2009, Kano has been linked to over 40 taxi break-ins in barangays Pahina Central and Labangon. The boy allegedly started taxi break-ins when he was just five years old

He also said that the boy had two other accomplices he identified as alias “Mono” a minor, and “Tagalog” allegedly the older brother of Kano.

Alega said they have also sent Kano to the DSWD but the boy also escaped.

Police in previous years have urged Congress to revisit and amend Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act which protects the rights of Children in Conflict with the Law as it is being abused by minor offenders.

But, OIC-DSWD Regional Director Niña Antipala said that if other groups are lobbying to amend RA 9344, then they must first conduct a study that will provide data proving their claims on the alarming rise of CICL in the country.

According to Antipala, they should not just amend the law based on “pure opinion and assumption,” adding that if they insist, they should refute the study where the law was based upon.

The study Antipala was referring was conducted by the University of the Philippines , Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and the United Nations Children’s Fund.

Antipala added that the law is already enough to support our current situation, but he stressed that one problem that the lawmakers should consider is to “insure the support to the LGU, by providing them with enough manpower and funds” insuring successful conduct their projects.

Kano, according to Antipala, is just one of many who are suffering the ill effects of various societal problems which the country is facing and one of which is poverty.

The only thing that they can do for the likes of Kano is to assist them to change and to check for psychological problems the child may have.

However, Antipala clarified that if they do not have enough funds and manpower then the same problems will continue to haunt society. (FREEMAN)