2 boys in girl's rape-slay charged with murder

MANILA, Philippines - Police filed murder charges Monday against two teenagers accused of raping and killing a seven-year-old girl in Parañaque City last month.

An official said the filing of the case was only procedural because they know that the case – particularly against the 13-year-old fifth grade student – will be dismissed anyway.

“We have to file the case as part of the inquest proceedings because they were arrested,” city police chief Senior Superintendent Billy Beltran said.

Under Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Act of 2006, authored by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, persons 15 years old and below cannot be detained for capital offenses.

“So, under that law, the 13-year-old does not have any criminal liability at all,” Beltran added.

The case against the 17-year-old, meanwhile, can only prosper if the Department of Social and Welfare Development (DSWD) recommends it before the investigating prosecutor.

“Under the law, the DSWD will have to determine first if suspects 15 years old and above committed the crime with discernment, meaning he knows what he was doing,” Beltran explained.

The two boys admitted to raping and sodomizing Clarissa Pizzara at an open field in Barangay San Dionisio on Feb. 20, then drowning her in a creek when she kept crying.