I’M referring to the case of a 16-year-old juvenile delinquent who really must be jailed for killing a brave policeman in Central Visayas whose only fault is that he asked the accused to not violate the curfew hours in Mandaue City last week.

The teenager who surrendered to the local police has been turned over by the Mandaue City police to the local social welfare services. The gun he used in shooting Police Staff Sergeant Orvin Seth Lim Felicio in Mandaue City last July 27 has also been recovered and will form part of the evidence against him.

The case will actually test the mettle of the police when it comes to filing criminal charges against so-called Children in Conflict with the Law or CICL. Will they allow a young cop killer to be merely confined in a DSWD-run facility or a Boy’s Town or will they really prove to all and sundry that the suspect really acted with discernment—the capacity to distinguish right from wrong—when he shot Felicio.

Under Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, a child above 15 years old but below 18 years of age shall be exempt from criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention program unless he/she acted with discernment.

RA 9344 actually gave CICLs and children at risk all the legal protection they can have as well as the chance to undergo reformation, form prevention to rehabilitation and later reintegration into the society.

That law recognized the vital role of children and youth in nation building and aimed to promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being while inculcating in them patriotism and nationalism. However, in the case of the accused cop killer, it appears he is more inclined with gang membership and violating the law at a very young age.

I really agree that CICLs must have all the rights they can have including the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the right not to be imposed the capital punishment or life imprisonment; the right to be treated with human and respect; the right to prompt access to legal assistance as well as the right to bail and recognizance.

However, what about the rights of the late SSgt. Felicio and his wife and kids who for the rest of their lives have to suffer the pain of remembering that the latter was killed by a young rascal. Early this week, PNP chief General Rommel Marbil conferred the posthumous PNP Heroism Medal or Medalya ng Kadakilaan to the slain cop.

PSSgt. Felicio, an intelligence operative of the Mandaue City Police Station in Cebu was off-duty when he became the latest member of the police force to be killed in the line of duty this year. “PSSg Felicio’s bravery and dedication to duty epitomize the selflessness and heroism that define the men and women of the PNP. His ultimate sacrifice serves as a solemn reminder of the risks our police officers face daily in their commitment to ensuring public safety and order,” said the top cop when he visited the cop’s wake.

Gen. Marbil emphasized that the valor displayed by PSSg Felicio and other fallen police officers should inspire their colleagues to strive for excellence, resilience, and vigilance in fulfilling their duties.

Felicio tragically lost his life in the line of duty past midnight of July 27, 2024, in Oakridge, Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City. An investigation showed that the off-duty cop was trying to stop an altercation related to a curfew violation when he was shot multiple times by the minor who was armed with an unlicensed firearm.

It turned out that the policeman noticed a group of local barangay watchmen reprimanding some teenagers in the area for violating the curfew hours. Instead of heeding the barangay men’s instruction for them to go home, the teenagers exchange heated words with them.

The motorcycle-riding officer saw the commotion and after identifying himself as a cop, told the teenager to go home as there is a curfew for minors. It was at that instance when the teenager who was said to be a young gang member gave him a cold stare and later fired shots at the victim. The cop who was in the area to fetch his wife from work suffered gunshot wounds in the head and right arm and died on the spot. Felicio is a resident of Consolacion, Cebu who joined the PNP in 2008.