Parents of minors rescued in drug raid charged

MANILA, Philippines — Nine parents have been charged with child abuse before the Navotas City Family Court for allegedly allowing their children to join illegal drug activities.

Assistant City Prosecutor William Reynon Jr. found probable cause to charge the parents of six minors, who were among those rescued during a raid by the Philippine Drug Enfrorcement Agency (PDEA) at the Navotas fish port on Jan. 16.

Barangay chairman Melvin Manalo acted as the complainant for the PDEA, which at the time received flak for presenting the minors before the media, in violation of child protection laws.

In a resolution dated June 10 but obtained by the media over the weekend, the prosecutor found the parents liable for failing to fulfill their parental obligation when they allowed their children to sell foils and serve as lookouts to “scorers” or those who used shabu.

The minors were paid P10 to P15 per scorer for a daily income of P200 to P500, according to the prosecutor.

The fiscal said the parents seemed aware of their children’s involvement in drugs because they did not bother to ask where their earnings came from.

The case for violation of Republic Act 7610 had been raffled off to the Navotas City Family Court Branch 9.

Eight parents of the six other minors were cleared of child abuse complaint.

“There was no proof submitted that the respondents used, coerced, forced or intimidated their child to act as conduit in drug pushing,” the prosecutor said in clearing the other parents.

In filing the complaint last January, PDEA chief Aaron Aquino had said the case would serve as a “test case” to have the parents of children in conflict with the law criminally liable.