Group 'enraged' by brutality shown in video of bloodied youth

A child advocacy group on Friday said it was "enraged" by the brutality displayed in a video circulating on the Internet, saying the incident was proof of the "culture of impunity" in the country. Sophia Garduce, spokesperson of the SALINLAHI Alliance for Children's Concerns, said violations were made by the "abusers" in the video that showed unidentified men forcing two beaten young men to kiss each other.
(Warning: The faces in the video above have been blurred to protect the identities of the victims and the expletives have been bleeped, but the video may still be offensive to some viewers) "Such a surreal scene only makes sense under the prevailing culture of impunity [that] not only permeates the military establishment but the police structure as well," Sophia Garduce, the groups spokesperson said. The group said under Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, authorities are required to turn over accosted children to the Department of Social Welfare and Development within eight hours. But the Philippine National Police (PNP) is still investigating the incident to determine if the abuse happened inside a police precinct and was indeed carried out by police officers. “We want to know what [police] unit, but regardless of whether these were policemen or not, the PNP can investigate motu proprio [in its own initiative]," said PNP spokesperson Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV. In the controversial video that has also circulated on social networking site Facebook, the voice of an abuser was heard saying, "Ikaw, nakapatay ka 'no (Hey you, you've killed someone, right)?" The abusers likewise forced two of the men into kissing each other “torridly," threatening to slap or kick them if they don’t follow the orders. "Ganyan ba napapanuod ninyo sa CD? Gusto ko yung parang napapanuod niyo sa CD (Is that what you’ve seen on CD? I want you to copy what you’ve see on CD)," a voice said. "Sige sir (Alright, sir)," one of the men replied. The SALINLAHI urged the victims shown in the video and their relatives to bring the matter to court. "They should not be cowed into fear," Garduce said. The group also warned politicians who would be pushing for the repeal or revision of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (JJ law). "Instead of muddling with the JJ law, politicians should reform the law enforcers, help put an end to the culture of impunity and address," she said. Commission on Human Rights (CHR) chairperson Leila de Lima said abuse was evident in the video. "That's a form of torture, psychological, mental. And of course, there's an abuse. The child's abused," she said. Senior Superintendent Ericson Velasquez, chief of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Division, said being a criminal does not give other people the right to hurt him or her. "Kahit ano ang nagawa niyang kasalanan. Labag man ito sa batas, labag man ito sa moralidad, hindi mo dapat ginalaw na muna yung mga bata," he said. (No matter what shortcomings a person has committed, be it legal or against the law and morality, you should not hurt a child.) - RJAB/HGS, GMANews.TV