The death of child beggar Chastity Mirabeles has elicited indignation from the community and plenty of opinions are being shared why the unfortunate incident happened.
Chastity, 11, was a Grade 4 pupil who had a begging spot near Fuente Osmeña. She was not homeless. She lived with her siblings in Barangay Calamba. She was a “regular” around the commercial district and stays up until the wee hours begging under the watchful eyes of her mother, who has a disability.
Child beggars are a common sight in the area and the Fuente Police would usually “rescue” or take them out of the streets to prevent them from meeting accidents or be used by criminal syndicates. The police enforcement of the so-called “Libod-Suroy” program is in coordination with the Department of Social Welfare and Services and adopts a protocol to protect the rights of children and women.
On Easter Sunday, members of the Fuente Police swooped down on the street kid beggars and rounded up 14 children including Chastity Mirabeles. She died the following day due to “dengue and heatstroke” according to government doctors. The public hospital report was negated by a post-mortem conducted by PNP Regional Crime Laboratory Office 7 which showed that the victim suffered from “traumatic injuries to the trunk”.
The case appears to find an answer in the testimony of another child beggar who told DSWS chief Esther Concha that they were maltreated while under police custody. According to the young witness who is now under protective custody, they were given electric shock at one time.
Initially, Police Station 2 Chief Wildemar Tiu denied that his men conducted a rescue operation of child beggars in the early hours of Easter Sunday but his denial flies in the face of an entry in the pink blotter dated April 5.
Tiu, who is now on vacation in the United States, tried to dismiss allegations of police brutality by having a snapshot of him together with the street kids published in a local daily, apparently to show that he is “child-friendly”. The street kids were captured in the photo shoot looking very happy in front of a fast food chain together with Tiu, a lady cop and another policeman. It was not the police official though who treated the children to a meal but a private individual.
Chastity’s case was a disaster waiting to happen, if we base this on statements made by the DSWS chief who said there have been reports that Station 2 policemen would beat up children and treat them like criminals.
It is reassuring to hear that the regional police, the Cebu City Police Office and the city government are doing what they can to secure justice for Chastity. The National Bureau of Investigation is also expected to dig up facts, so with the Commission on Human Rights in coordination with proper police and government agencies.
For his part, Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama has ordered the preventive relief of all Police Station 2 officers and personnel involved in the incident. This is one preventive suspension order that hopefully will not be struck down by a Temporary Restraining Order or elevated to the Supreme Court.
The other day, I had an interesting interview with Tessie Fernandez over the cooperative advocacy show, Co-op TV (CCTN Channel 47). The peg of our conversation was best practices, to highlight the contribution of outstanding individuals and institutions recognized by the Ramon Aboitiz Triennial Awards.
In the spotlight of the episode which airs this Saturday (April 25, 6 a.m. & 5:30 p.m.) is the Lihok Pilipina Foundation, Inc. which bagged the RTA outstanding institution award in 2006.
Tessie Fernandez is the co-founder and executive director of Lihok Pilipina, a nongovernment organization which initially helped underprivileged women get engaged in livelihood enterprises.
The turning point for Lihok Pilipina was when it discovered why women found it very difficult to make good their obligations and continue with the projects they have started. When Tessie and her co-workers tried to dig deeper, they found out that domestic violence was the real cause.
To make the long story short, Lihok Pilipina’s intervention and painstaking efforts in coordination with other non-government organizations and state agencies made it possible in mainstreaming domestic violence. Their output virtually put flesh in the enactment of RA 9262 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004.
Tessie’s take on the death of Chastity Mirabeles is interesting because she placed it in the context of domestic violence. It may be speculation yet at this point but with a solid track record in following cases of abuse against women and children, Tessie has raised a very significant point: mothers and their children going out in the streets to beg to escape domestic violence.
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