Carcar police eye program to address minors involved in stealing, robbing in city

An 18-year-old man, who allegedly robbed an establishment, was arrested while his two minor cohorts were rescued by the police in Carcar City on Friday, July 22, 2022. | Photo courtesy of Carcar City Police Station

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Carcar City police plan to implement a program that they hope can address the crimes committed by minors or children in the city.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Ardioleto Cabagnot, chief of Carcar City Police Station, said that they planned to implement an “Adopt a Child” program aimed at children in conflict with the law especially those linked to robberies and thefts there.

Cabagnot said this after the arrest of an 18-year-old man for robbing an establishment in the city on July 22, and the rescue of his two minor cohorts.

Cabagnot said that the arrested suspect, John Manuel Caballes of Barangay Poblacion 1 this city, broke into establishments and made off with P17,000 cash.

Caballes was caught with his minor cohorts,  two boys  —13 and 16 years old —, who were rescued.

Arrested suspect’s story

The Carcar police chief came up with the plan to implement this program after hearing the reason why Caballes went into stealing — that he was doing it to survive, to buy food, and to feed his vices of smoking, sniffing rugby and doing computer games.

Cabagnot also learned that Caballes had been doing this when he was still a minor and after his father died and his mother then left him years ago.

He said he was then left in the care of his grandmother and without really proper care and guidance he would sometimes sleep on the streets.

There, he, eventually meet a certain Tommy, who taught him how to steal and rob to have money for food and to feed his vices.

Cabagnot said that this certain Tommy was already in jail.

The arrested suspect Caballes also said that he would have wanted to go to school but he was not baptized and had no birth certificate.

“Ganahan ko moskwela pero wa ko gipaskwela sa akoang mama kay wala ko mabunyagi. Gipaskwela na ta kos taga amoa pero pangitaan man og birth…[Manghilabot ko] kay wala may pangkaon, usahay duwa computer, [bisyo nako] sigarilyo ug rugby” Caballes said.

(I really wanted to go to school but my mother did not enrol me because I was not baptized (and I had no birth certificate). Somebody in our area even tried to take care of my schooling but the school needed a birth certificate [and I don’t have any] … [I went into stealing] because I have no money for my food, sometimes for playing computer [my vice], smoking and rugby.)

Adopt a child program

With this, Cabagnot said that he came up with a plan to have an “Adopt a child” program to help children in a similar situation as Caballes.

Cabagnot said that he hoped that this planned program would eventually minimize the crimes involving minors — crimes like stealing and robbing homes, committed by these kind of children in the city.

“Everybody deserves a second chance,” said Cabagnot.

“Adopt-on ba ug kung magtinarong. Pareha ani, kahibalo mani siya ani kung kinsay mga tirador. So dali ra namo mafollow-up. At the same time, og positive ang output ani, makaenganyo sa iyang ubang kauban nga muundang ug musuport sa program sa pagahimuon sa pulis o gobyerno. By this sense, maminimize gyud gamay ang lungkab-lungkab diri,” Cabagnot said.

(We will adopt him or her if he or she would change for the better. Like this one, he knows who the ones who would steal in the area. So, we can quickly followup on these people, At the same time, if the output is positive on this program, then this can encourage those other children to stop their [doing these crimes] and support the program that the police and government planned to implement. By this sense, we can minimize the thefts and burglaries here.)

Cabagnot said that the program, however, was still in the planning stage and these would include adopting children in conflict with the law by letting them stay perhaps in the police station if he or she has no home, give them allowance, food, and make them go to school.

The police chief said that they would coordinate with the city government and the city’s Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on this plan.

Call to establishment owners

Meawhile, Cabagnot encouraged owners of establishments not to leave any valuables or cash inside their establishments especially since the arrested suspect Caballes admitted that they had robbed and stolen from establishments in Barili, Alcantara, Dumanjug, and Bato in Oslob.

Caballes also told Cabagnot that they would usually target stalls and steal money from these establishments. 

He said that they would only wait for the owners to close their stalls and take advantage of the time to commit the crime.

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