Cops prefer intervention measures to save minors from committing crimes after viral Las Piñas video
Police would prefer intervention plans than law enforcement actions on the minors involved in the viral video of alleged harassment of passengers of a jeepney in the middle of the road in Las Piñas City.
For one, there was no crime committed and the incident stemmed from a disagreement between the jeepney driver and the minors involved.
Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said they will explore ways to expand the coordination with local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in crafting intervention measures to save minors from street gangs and other activities that would expose them to criminal activities.
Nartatez said all the measures that would be crafted could form part of the implementation of the Safer Cities in Metro Manila and other parts of the country, particularly in urban areas.
“We treat this matter in a manner that will guide these minors in determining what is right from wrong, not in a manner that treats them as criminals through law enforcement alone,” said Nartatez.
The incident in Las Piñas went viral and immediately triggered debate on the issue of peace and order in the country.
Nartatez, however, said the Las Pinas City Police responded to the area after receiving a report on the incident and located eight minors.
They were later turned over to barangay authorities and endorsed to the Department of Social Welfare and Development for proper intervention in line with child protection protocols.
Nartatez said he already tasked police commanders to initiate dialogue with the LGUs and the DSWD in addressing similar issues involving minors in their respective areas of responsibility.
He also tasked them to include the parents of the erring minors in the discussion as he stressed that repetitive delinquent behavior often stems from a lack of parental supervision.
“Discipline begins at home and when minors cross the line in public, accountability doesn’t end with them—it extends to the guidance that failed to stop it,” Nartatez said.