Alarming report about children

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Managing Editor ANTONIETA B. LOPEZ Business Editor ODETTE MONTELIBANO Desk Editor MARY ANN BARCELONA Advertising Coordinator RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete

ANDRES R. LEONARDIA Managing Director

Children have always been given protection against abuses as indicated by unrelenting efforts to protect their rights, along with those of women and the underprivileged.

But it becomes more than alarming when the children themselves become the perpetrators of wrong deeds and crimes instead of their being on the receiving end of acts of violence.

This pressing development stems from the report of the Negros Occidental provincial police that the rate of incidence of crimes committed by children have increased by more than 50 percent, with more than half, too, reported as rape cases. The rate appears to be in a trend as records of the previous year went up compared to the preceding period by an identical rate. We can assume that this rising rate is not limited to the province alone but also to other areas of the region and the country.

Alarming, it is, indeed, with the nature of the crimes the children have committed. Other than theft cases, the children committed robbery, murder and physical injuries, frustrated murder, illegal possession of deadly weapons, acts of lasciviousness, illegal gambling, drug possession and attempted parricide. It almost defies our sensibilities to think that children are now capable of committing more serious offenses than , let's say, theft.

This leads us to look into the dynamics of the causes of these commissions. Apparently, values inculcated at home may have degraded not only for economic reasons but because of home relations between parents and between parents and children, with the increasing rate of juvenile delinquency in our midst. It will also be interesting to check how many of these children in conflict with the law are in school or out-of school and also what efforts are being done to sustain their education including after they have committed violations of the law.

It is sad that at their young age, many of the children have already their senses numbed on their sense of respect for other people's rights, what is fair, just and good not really because of their own doings but obviously because of the failure social institutions and people responsible in rearing them supposedly to become productive and disciplined citizens.

Unless the various sectors in our community - the home, school, church and the media included, -- commit themselves to the further promotion of awareness of peace, justice and order - our province, towns and cities will have more children in conflict with the law.*