Cebu City dads want kids’ rights protected

CEBU CITY – Aside from introducing a Children’s Code to protect the rights of minors, the city council is also expected to approve a resolution asking Congress to impose higher penalties for crimes whose victims are below 18 years old.

In a proposed resolution, councilor Manuel Legaspi said Congress should amend the Revised Penal Code to accommodate this provision.

Legaspi said the move is in line with the call of the United Nations for a separate and more specific Declaration of Human Rights for Children as provided for in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The council’s series of proposed legislation on children’s rights was prompted by the arrest of five minors by the city police last Oct. 3 which raised howls of protest from different human rights groups.

The police apologized for lapses in the handling of the minors when the arresting officers handcuffed them and presented them to the media as "snatchers."

The council is also expected to approve an ordinance establishing the Cebu City Children’s Code which complements provisions of the Youth and Child Welfare Code or Presidential Decree 603, and well as other special laws on children. – Freeman News Service