6-yr-old boy rescued from abusive father
THE city government of Davao's Kean Gabriel Hotline, which was established to respond to child abuse cases, had saved another victim from a potentially serious predicament.
On Wednesday, the city's Quick Response Team on Children's Concerns (QRTCC) rescued a six-year-old boy from his abusive father who was also subsequently arrested by police authorities.
Social Worker Teresita Obang said they learned of the boy's predicament through a call made to Hotline that was established last year to respond to child abuse cases in the city.
The hotline was named after the three-year-old boy who was beaten to death by his stepfather.
Obang said when they arrived at the family house on Wednesday, the father even attempted to hide the child's bruises, which he had inflicted using a piece of electrical wire.
The mother's testimony had confirmed that the bruises were inflicted by the father because the boy had showered in the rain, she said.
Based on the testimony of the mother, the husband, who was drunk at that time, was so mad he had repeatedly hit the child with a piece of wire.
Obang said the father had been arrested and was brought to the police station.
"At first the mother was convinced to file charges against her husband but when we arrived at the police station, she changed her mind. She said that she does not have an idea on how they will survive without her husband," Obang said.
Despite this, 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 for not reporting the abuse to authorities.
Obang said the City Social Welfare Office (CSWO) decided to take custody of the boy anyway, especially when it was learned that most of the time, the parents would just leave him alone at their house.
"According to the neighbors, they always leave 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".
She said the sad thing though was that "at least two children a day" still experience abuse in the city. CIO