A 13-year-old boy in Caloocan City was arrested on Wednesday night for allegedly selling marijuana. The minor, an out-of-school youth, yielded 10 packets of marijuana leaves during an antidrug operation led by SPO1 Michael Batang of the Caloocan police in Barangay 18. When questioned, the boy admitted he was selling each packet for P50, but said he was doing it for a cousin who would give him a P10 “commission” for every bag sold, Batang said.
The boy was first placed in the custody of the Department of Social Work and Development and later returned to his parents. According to SPO2 Fidel Cabinta of the Caloocan Police Drug Enforcement Unit, minors being arrested for illegal drugs have become commonplace in Caloocan, where last week 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos was gunned down by the police, who had tagged the young man as a drug runner.
Amid public outrage over the incident, Delos Santos’ family has denied the allegation and three Caloocan police officers are now facing investigation for the boy’s killing. “Based on the cases we handle every day, around 20 percent of those we arrest are minors,” Cabinta said. —KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING