She left for church

When 16-year-old Christine Lee Silawan asked permission from her mother to go to church, her mother didn't bother to say no. She already knew that she was in safe hands and that it was best for her daughter to serve at the altar. While the Mass finished as scheduled, she did not come home, prompting her mother to look for her all night. The following day she was found dead in an open space in Bangkal, Lapu-Lapu City, with no clothes from the waist down and with the skin of her face peeled off to expose her skull. It was a very unpleasant sight.

Everyone was puzzled why such crime happened in their peaceful place. Only a deaf-mute female who woke up in the middle of the night saw what happened but couldn't properly communicate it to authorities. What we know is that three men on board a motorcycle dropped the victim on the wide lot and did the crime which led to her death. She wasn't able to properly see how the suspects looked like as they wore bonnets and masks. If only she could communicate well, that could have solved the crime easier.

I can't fathom how the mother is coping. After putting all her trust in her daughter to come home on time, it didn't happen. Now parents of teenagers are asking how they should handle their children. Should they be allowed to leave home on their own? To what extent should they protect their kids? Sometimes the most peaceful places that we think are safe actually harbor men who could be preying on potential victims. It will now be a dilemma for parents on how to raise their children and when to let them go when they need to.

How is the church in all of this? Will they stop getting minors as volunteers for their Sunday masses? It takes tremendous courage to trust in one person, how much more their own children? Or should we blame the authorities instead? We keep on thinking that bringing our children to church would change them in many ways, but there are some incidents that can't be avoided.

I guess there is no one to blame in this crime but possibly the role of illegal drugs. It was said that the suspects were high on drugs. Had no drugs been present, it would not have happened. Now I understand why there is a need to eradicate drugs in the community to avoid these kinds of crimes. It destroys the mind and the conscience, leaving many victims.

Not that I am in full support of the campaign against illegal drugs and the ways they are trying to solve this, but it just makes sense. Pushers make easy money, users enjoy the benefit, but they both destroy the community. It is a very sad scenario that has now become a vicious cycle.

Let us all pray for the soul of the young girl. She could have been places, too bad her dreams were cut short.