Perpetrator captured

This is finally not fake news. The perpetrator of the heinous crime involving a 16-year-old girl was finally captured. Although they were looking for three, they tracked down the prime suspect. It’s a relief that finally, after a week, there is a development.

The family would have wanted more, like Christine to be revived. But since that is impossible, they only want all those who are responsible to pay for what they did. The people still have a lot of questions: Why her? Where did they know each other? Were they really in a relationship? How was he able to do that? etc. These questions also fill the minds of the family members who are most affected. Although we also want to know, let us leave it to the authorities as the wheels of justice start to roll.

It is stressful for family, they have been granting interviews to different media outlets day and night and entertaining visitors from different government offices and organizations there to see the family and pay their respects. It has caught worldwide attention and authorities must be keen on providing only the right information.

I scoff at the fact that there was an image of another suspect making rounds in social media last week and everybody believed it. The suspect was indeed caught in Davao city but that was a different story. There is a little squabble between the reporting of the Manila media and the Cebu media. It’s true that members of the Cebu media wait patiently for the directives of the police so as not to hamper their investigation, but it also an insult that reporters from other areas who are not even hands-on in the situation blatantly post information about the case even before it’s verified.

This is how we see the level of understanding with the netizens. If they are wise enough to know real news from fake, then they wouldn't have to make such a fuss over a different case. It’s sad that some people are this low --quick to believe everything they see online.

Well, that issue must be over by now. We must focus our attention today on arresting the other two accomplices, and how to stop such crimes from happening again. It sounds so cliché, but we must be honest that there must be measures against an incident as gruesome as this. Perhaps, increased security by the authorities? Or a different kind of parenting approach in dealing with teenagers? The list could go on.

The story of Christine may have partially been closed with the capture of the perpetrator but we will never forget who she is. We will not forget that one day in March, she was found dead. She is a symbol of a failed relationship born out of a very young age. She is a woman's cry to men who question their decisions and course of their life. Nobody deserves to die in such a gruesome manner. We hope this will not happen again and that a clear conviction of the proper suspect will take place.