Reports of kids sniffing rugby under bridges in Banilad, Mabolo, prompted operation
At least 43 children and teenagers were rescued by the Cebu City government last Friday after they were caught sniffing rugby or loitering in shanties late into the night under the Mahiga Creek bridges in barangays Mabolo and Banilad in Cebu City.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella, who led the operation, said most of the children, whose ages range from 6 to 15, were caught sniffing rugby.
“Adunay 7 anyos gabarag-barag pa pagkuha sa mga polis. Duna pay epekto sa rugby (A 7-year-old kid couldn’t even walk straight when he was rescued. Apparently, he was still experiencing the effects of sniffing rugby),” said Labella, who is also head of the Cebu City Police Coordinating and Advisory Council (PCAC).
He said the rescue operation was conducted after he received several reports about youths loitering under the bridges in barangay Mabolo and Banilad.
Labella said there were even reports that some of the children had sexual encounters in the shanties under the bridge.
Of the group, 65 percent of those rescued were male while 35 percent were female.
Most of the children were not from Banilad and Mabolo but were from barangays Kamagayan and Zapatera, and localities outside Cebu City.
The PCAC is coordinating operations with the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), Cebu City Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), Cebu Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (CESET) and barangay employees.
The rescued youth were temporarily housed at the city’s Community Scouts office and Cebu Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (Ceset) office.
Labella said the children will undergo psycho-social intervention and profiling.
“Ato ipatawag ang parents. Ato sila warningan nga posible duna silay violation o tulubagon kay kini nga mga bata naa sa tulay alas onse na sa gabii (We will also ask their parents to be here. They will be warned that they face possible violations and liabilities because they allowed their children to stay under the bridge even at 11 p.m.),” he said
DESTROY SHANTIES
He also ordered the Prevention, Restoration, Order Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) team to demolish the shanties the children had built under the bridge.
He also told CCPO Chief Marciano Batiancela to deploy police officers and barangay tanods in the area to prevent the children from returning.
“We will continue the operation. We will not stop because if this is allowed to continue then what would be the future of these children? At 7 to 9 years old, they are already sniffing rugby or even using shabu,” he said in Cebuano.
He said they would continue to round up children found loitering in the streets late at night despite the Juvenile Justice Law, which exempts minors from criminal liability or having them put in jail unless there are special circumstances involved.