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Fight For Child Rights Or Lose Them
First Published: Reflections - Philippine Daily Inquirer Publication Date: August 14th 1991 Author's Name: Father Shay Cullen SSC Grace is a street child. Begging from sailors is a way of life that she grew up with and knew nothing else. Her mother begged from sailors when Grace was a babe in arms and an important prop in the curb-side strategy of survival. Her friends from the nearby slums that ran along the perimeter moat separating the city from the base had grown up with similar roles until some of them became easy prey for the primps as sex objects for the paedophiles. It is a way of life that goes mostly without question. Until there is the killing of a Rosario Baluyot or the attempted rape of a Grace Langit (which is not her real name of course) but being only 14 she is still a minor, a child, and if she was your daughter the stripping, beating and sexual violence given her by a barangay tanod in Olongapo would be a most shocking crime. But if we listen to those who advise caution and restraint then perhaps we have to replace our shock and anger with resignation and acceptance of the inevitable, or do we? No! If we act on a strong conviction that sexual violence against women and children is repugnant, wrong and has to be challenged and redressed in all cases then we can turn the tide of indifference and the public silence that gives consent. Otherwise the arrogant and powerful can do as they please. Where do the aggrieved, and victims of violence turn when bodily harmed, exploited and abused? To those in authority who are given the power and the revenue to protect the citizen and fight for justice? But when the authority figure becomes the abuser, the oppressor and the rapist to whom does the hapless victims then go for help? Grace Langit is a poor helpless child who went to the police after she was dragged away from her friends by a barangay tanod, beaten, threatened, stripped naked and only prevented being raped by her screams and fighting back. The police put the incident on the blotter but took no further action to bring the suspect to an investigation . The indifference is appalling. Instead of jailing the rape suspects the practice over the years has been to jail the children . Jailing children and refusing to investigate attempted rape of a minor, pampering suspected killers of children is a violation of every known right of a child. We have to act on behalf of children. Citizens have a duty and a sacred right to protest against such evil. If we continue to hide behind closed doors and ignore the murders, shooting and rapes, even of children, it wont be long before those criminals and evil doers are kicking down our closed doors to kill and rape our children. Unless all citizens band together to protest, to march and to demand their rights those rights will be taken away and we get the oppressive and unjust society that we bring upon ourselves. Last week Grace filed criminal charges against her attacker with the help of the PREDA Center and Atty. Sergio Cruz who takes many such legal cases and was the successful private prosecutor against Hienrich Ritter, the tourist convicted in the killing of street child Rosario Baluyot but whose conviction was overturned by the Supreme court on a technicality earlier this year. To prevent and redress such child abuse, restore to health drug dependents and promote healthy alternatives to other social evils is the reason that PREDA exists. We have to repair and rebuild our center damaged by the eruptions of Mt. Pinatubo and the earthquakes and we are appealing to Secretary Jun Factoran of the DENR to act decisively, quickly and positively on the Preda Land so as the child and youth center will be all the more secure from those who would like to get it for night clubs, bars or hotels. We appeal to the public to support our request and encourage immediate action by the DENR. There is a friendly national and international campaign among our supporters to persuade the DENR to act quickly on this issue NOW in this time of calamity and human suffering. Secretary Factoran has acted quickly ,compassionately and decisively in preparing sites for the resettlement of the evacuees of Mt. Pinatubo's eruption and we ask with confidence for an equally just decision to secure the PREDA center from false claims. Our work must continue on behalf of exploited women and children and give a new lease of life to the likes of Grace and the many other street children and drug dependents who have no where else to go.
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