Teen suspect faces court for charges
WITH rosary in hand and head bowed down, the 16-year-old youth accused of murdering his pregnant mother and 5-year-old half-sister was brought to the Regional Trial Court of Cebu City for the filing of charges against him yesterday.
The boy remained silent as he was shortly escorted out of the courtroom by Naga City police to the Operation Second Chance center in barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City, pending the resolution of the case against him.
Robbery with homicide charges were filed by the Naga City Prosecutor’s Office against the teenager. The case is non-bailable.
The boy earlier admitted to killing his mother Virgindina Bantilan and half-sister Geraldine last Sept. 8.
The 39-year-old Bantilan was eight months pregnant when she was murdered.
Autopsy results revealed that Geraldine was shot in the forehead while Virgindina was stabbed several times.
The boy was also accused of stealing P600 and a cell phone worth P800 from his mother.
Chief Insp. Timmar Alam, Naga City police chief, said the primary respondent “acted with discernment” when he committed the offense.
The finding was based upon the evaluation of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 states that “a child above 15 years but below 18 years of age shall be exempt from criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention program, unless he/she has acted with discernment…”
The minor’s 19-year-old alleged accomplice Brian Pansoy is detained at the Naga City Jail after he opted to file a counter-affidavit.
Three persons executed affidavits against Pansoy and the 16-year-old boy.
Mark Lester Abastas said Pansoy sold Virgindinia’s cell phone to him worth P800.
Abastas also sold the cell phone to Flordelisa Lapiz. Cleofe Tampus, Virgindinia’s sister, identified the cell phone as the same unit owned by the victim.
Attached in the charge sheet were the photographs of the victims. Virgindinia was lying on her back on a couch while Geraldine laid on the floor.
The 16-year-old was accused of striking the heads of the two victims with a .357 revolver. He later stabbed the victims several times.
The boy’s father, a seaman working for a Manila-based shipping company, is set to arrive today.
The murders of the two Bantilans and a mother at the hands of her 25-year-old son at her home in barangay Mambaling, Cebu City speak volumes about society’s need to help dysfunctional families, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said.
In yesterday’s press conference, Palma said the community plays a large part in providing support to families undergoing their own crisis at home. “Let’s help them pray and be sensitive to (their needs),” he said.
He said Church values should be strengthened at home to prevent the incidence of violence within the family.
Palma said families become dysfunctional if one or both parents work abroad.
Fr. Joe Dizon of the Imus Archdiocese echoed Palma’s point.
“Relatives and extended family can’t compensate for the presence of a mother or a father. It may cause children to become rebellious,” he said.
Dizon said the government should create employment in the country to draw more Filipinos to work back home instead of abroad.
