Kin of men killed by 15-year-old boy want juvenile justice law repealed

MANILA, Philippines - Relatives of two men who were shot dead, allegedly by a 15-year-old boy, are calling for the immediate abolition of the juvenile justice law after a local fiscal remanded custody of the teenager to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Under Republic Act 9344, passed in 2006, offenders 15 years old and below are exempted from any criminal liability.

Taxi driver Ronaldo Santos’ son said the suspect is a child “with a criminal mind. He should suffer for his misdeeds behind bars.”

A relative of pedicab driver Rodolfo Manabat said the boy “cannot be considered a child anymore” since he has reportedly killed several people. “We might be compelled to put the law in our hands,” he said.

The relatives of the two victims vowed to approach members of Congress to push for the immediate abolition of RA 9344, which they claimed is more lenient to criminals.

Santos and Manabat were killed after the boy allegedly started shooting when he failed to find his enemy at the corner of Capulong and Velasquez streets in Tondo, Manila before dawn on Nov. 20. The victims were waiting for passengers when the shooting occurred.

The boy, accompanied by his mother and grandfather, surrendered two days after the shooting after learning that police had launched a manhunt for him.

Though two witnesses identified him as the shooter, the boy denied the allegation, saying he was elsewhere at the time of the killing.

Senior Inspector Joey de Ocampo, chief of the homicide section of the Manila Police District, said the boy was also tagged in two other killings, but the victims’ families did not file charges.

Senior Prosecutor Jhoseph Lopez directed the police yesterday to transfer the minor to the custody of the Manila Youth Rehabilitation Center in Arroceros, Manila.

“We cannot do anything but to abide by the fiscal’s directive. It is now up to the court whether to pursue the two counts of murder filed against the minor,” De Ocampo said.