DAVAO CITY — The city government’s Quick Response Team on Children’s Concerns (QRTCC) rescued a 6-year-old boy from his abusive father on Wednesday. The father was also subsequently arrested by police authorities.
Social Worker Teresita Obang told reporters on Thursday that they learned of the boy’s predicament through a call made to the Kean Gabriel Hotline, which was established last year to respond to child abuse cases in the city.
The hotline was named after a 3-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his stepfather.
Obang said when they arrived at the family’s house in Agdao district on Wednesday, the 27-year-old father even attempted to hide the child’s bruises, which he had inflicted using a piece of electrical wire.
The boy’s mother confirmed that the bruises were inflicted by the father who became angry when the boy played in the rain, Obang said.
The mother said her husband – who was drunk at that time – was so mad he repeatedly hit the child with the piece of wire.
Obang said the father had been arrested and was brought to the police station.
“At first the mother was determined to file charges against her husband but when we arrived at the police station, she changed her mind. She said that she did not have an idea on how they would survive without her husband,” Obang said.
Despite the mother’s reluctance, the police decided to pursue charges against the father, who has remained behind bars.
The father was sued for physical injury in relation to Republic Act 7610 or the Child Abuse Law. A complaint will also be filed against the mother, 25, for not reporting the abuse to authorities.
Obang said the City Social Welfare Office (CSWO) decided to take custody of the boy anyway, especially after learning that most of the time, the parents would just leave him alone at their house.
“According to the neighbors, they always left the child alone; no one was taking care of him,” Obang said.
Lorna Mandin, the head of the city’s Integrated Gender and Development Division, said the boy’s case was among the 134 calls concerning child abuse that the Kean Gabriel Hotline had received since being launched in October.
Mandin said the number of calls received and responded to by the Hotline showed that “the community is getting more involved by reporting such cases.”
But according to her, neighborhoods must remain vigilant as “at least two children a day” still experience abuse in the city. SFM