Boy, 15, kills self after getting whipped

CEBU, Philippines - A 15-year-old boy in the northern town of Daanbantayan committed suicide hours after his mother whipped him with a bamboo stick last Wednesday.

The boy, Neil John Monteseven, ended his life by tying a nylon rope around his neck inside their house in Sitio Lukot, Barangay Tominjao. His younger sister, Sharlyn Lee, 14, found him at past 6 pm.

His older brother Jogen brought him down and rushed him to the Daanbantayan District Hospital, but he was declared dead on arrival.

SPO1 Mamerto Gastador said that the morning prior to the incident, the boy’s mother, Genda, directed Monteseven and her sister to wash the laundry. While doing the chore, the kids reportedly started fighting and continued to fight despite their mother telling them to stop. This prompted Genda to get a bamboo stick and whip the two.

Gastor said the boy did not take his lunch that day and was later left alone in the house when his mother went to another village and his sister went to a neighbor’s house.

At past 6 pm, they found the boy hanging lifeless from the ceiling inside a room in the house.

Lydia Dualos, Municipal Social Welfare and Development Officer, said she was not aware of the incident but assured to look into the case.

Dualos said they will determine the real reason why Genda whipped her children.

“We will also coordinate with the barangay captain in checking the background of the mother,” Dualos told The FREEMAN in a phone interview.

She said it is possible for them to file charges against Genda for violation of RA 7610 or the law on the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act if she has been using corporal punishment to discipline her kids.

Last April 21, scolding was also the reason why Elymar Aragon, 14, hung himself inside their house in Tuburan town.

Investigation revealed that Elymar was scolded by his mother, Mary Jane, 33, for going out late in the evening with his friends. Mary Jane even told the victim to stay at home as a sanction.

But the simple disciplinary action depressed Elymar and prompted him to commit suicide.

He hang himself with a belt just as Mary Jane arrived home. She brought him to the Tuburan District Hospital in an attempt to save him but the boy was declared dead on arrival.  (FREEMAN)