DepEd, CHR condemn brutal killing of Lapu-Lapu schoolgirl

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education and the Commission on Human Rights strongly denounced the brutal killing of a 16-year-old girl in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

The victim, a Grade 9 learner, was reportedly raped and skinned to the skull. Her lifeless body was discovered at a vacant lot Monday morning a day after she was reported missing.

“No one deserves to suffer from such violence, especially that the victim is an innocent child. This act desecrates human dignity and must be punished,” Jacqueline De Guia, CHR spokesperson, said.

A quick response team from CHR Central Visayas will be dispatched to help in the investigation, she added.

DepEd, for its part, called on the local government unit and the police to swiftly bring to justice the perpetrators as it urged the public to protect children from all forms of abuse, violence, exploitation and threat.

The agency also noted that the Schools Division of Lapu-Lapu City has issued a memorandum reminding all public and private elementary and secondary schools to strengthen their existing policies on school safety.

These rules include restricting practice for school presentations and other school-related activities until 5 p.m. only, ordering school heads to advise students to bring packed lunch or snacks instead of buying food outside school premises, ensuring that functioning CCTV cameras are installed in strategic areas, requesting additional presence of police or barangay tanod and advising students to always go in groups when walking on the streets, especially when it is dark. — Gaea Katreena Cabico