EDITORIAL — Keep kids safe

Violence against young women doesn’t happen often, which is why when it happens the public outcry can be overwhelming.

As per a report in this newspaper a 12-year-old girl earlier reported missing in Toledo City was later found already dead tied to a tree.

What made the crime even more shocking was that the man suspected of committing the crime was also the girl’s own uncle.

Police are still investigating the incident, whether it involved a rape, whether it involved drugs, whether it involved someone else, among others, but this early even the governor has directed them to take the incident very seriously.

Our hearts go out to the ones the victim left behind. We hope for speedy justice in this case.

We cannot help but draw comparison to another case involving violence against another young girl; the rape and killing of 10-year-old Kiara Namanama who was found dead in a cave in Sitio Napo, Barangay Tapul, Talisay City, last January 9, 2022, three days after she had been reported missing.

Farther back, there is also the yet-unsolved case of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique who was abducted last February 8, 2011 on her way home from school in Barangay Calajoan, Minglanilla town, and found dead the following day in Barili town.

Children are particularly vulnerable to violent crimes given their inability to fight back as well as their tendency to easily trust adults.

We teach our children not to talk to strangers, but then again it’s no longer that simple. What if evil wears a face they are familiar with? Like a neighbor, or a friend, or possibly even a relative like an uncle?

Nowadays, with influences like drugs, alcohol, pornography, or even just bad company, there’s no telling what some people are capable of when robbed of sound judgment.

Without necessarily faulting the parents of the victim --because we are sure they had no idea what was going to happen to their daughter and also because we don’t want to add to their grief-- it has to be said that parents have to be always mindful of the whereabouts of their children.