In Bulacan and Olongapo, relatives are mourning the tragedy that befell two star-crossed teenage boys.
A note left behind by the younger of the two plus postings on Facebook indicate that the boys were in a romantic relationship. Last Tuesday, the 13-year-old, wielding a caliber .22 pistol, shot his 16-year-old friend inside a shopping mall in what appeared to be a fit of jealousy. The younger boy then turned the gun on himself. He died in a hospital after his life support system was removed the other day. The 16-year-old died hours later.
It’s painful to see how young the two are in their photos posted on Facebook.
It’s bad enough that hormones running amuck make people do bizarre things in their teenage years – things that can be regretted for the rest of one’s life.
What aggravates the hormone surge is the ease by which 13-year-olds can obtain a gun in this country.
That .22-caliber was only a paltik, the homemade type that can backfire or get stuck when you try to pull the trigger, forged in not-so-underground gun factories particularly those in Danao, Cebu.
But a paltik can still kill, as the deaths of the two boys tragically show. If we can make a Pinoy version of the all-terrain Jeep, we can make a gun that kills.
The paltik may be unreliable, but it is still effective enough as a deadly weapon that even some cops own one, in addition to their government-issued firearms. It can even be licensed, with the collusion of people in charge of gun permits. A paltik can be obtained for as low as a few hundred bucks.
The paltik trade, I am told, has been losing ground to legitimate gun manufacturers that have set up shop in the Philippines. A good gun can spell the difference between life and death for the owner, so soldiers and lawmen typically prefer to invest in original weapons with a reliable brand.
Civilian gun enthusiasts generally can afford to buy top-of-the-line guns; this is an expensive hobby. Those who worry about their safety and can afford to hire bodyguards can also afford to arm their security escorts with expensive guns.
But for those with a limited budget and plan to use a gun only once or twice, there’s the paltik.
The country is awash with guns: paltik, original, vintage, pocketsize, long arms. Authorities estimate that about half of some 2.3 million firearms in the country are not registered. Reports said 98 percent of gun-related crimes from 2004 to 2008 involved the use of unregistered weapons.
In the conflict areas of Mindanao, even children openly tote rifles. In Quezon City last Sept. 14, Sheila Macapugay fatally shot her husband in a shopping mall.
Days later, the 13-year-old shot his 16-year-old inamorato also in a shopping mall, in Mexico, Pampanga. Earlier this month in Cebu, a 16-year-old shot dead his pregnant mother and five-year-old stepsister.
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There’s another matter that seems to be emboldening children to commit murder, literally: the knowledge that they are protected by law from arrest and criminal prosecution.
Authorities are now taking a second look at Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which exempts anyone 15 years old or younger from arrest and criminal prosecution. Offenders 16 to 18 years old must be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which can simply return them to their parents.
I can understand why those who passed the law wanted to give youthful offenders a chance to wipe their slates clean. A criminal record can destroy one’s future for good. Many offenses are also committed by force of necessity, due to poverty.
But poverty cannot be an excuse to commit crime. And even if children can be forgiven for petty thievery and given a chance to reform, it’s harder to forgive a teenager who commits murder or homicide, or rape with homicide.
Several years ago, an eight-year-old girl was raped, mutilated and murdered by teenagers high on drugs in Manila.
Last Wednesday morning, a 15-year-old junior high school student was stabbed dead by a 16-year-old senior in Pangasinan. In Baguio City last Sept. 15, a 12-year-old boy was beaten to death by his classmates inside their classroom.
School children are particularly vulnerable to violent attacks. Kids who confined their inner barbarian to bullying weaker classmates can now give full rein to homicidal tendencies without fear of punishment.
Drug traffickers, also aware of RA 9344, use teenagers as drug couriers. In Metro Manila, teenage gangs roam the streets, stealing cars and car parts, snatching bags and cell phones, and robbing motorists at gunpoint.
Fully aware that they can get away with murder, teenagers commit it – and many other acts that could put adult offenders behind bars.
Citizens have a right to be protected from robbers and murderers in their midst. Those citizens include children.