Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Sec. Judy M. Taguiwalo today expressed sorrow over the heinous killing of a two-year old boy at the hands of his caregivers.

“We are shocked and grieved over the murder of two-year old John Earl Indino Cagalitan. Our Field Office XI in coordination with the social welfare development office (SWADO) in the region has taken immediate action to help the little boy’s mother Erlinda. Mrs. Cagalitan is an overseas Filipino worker and she left her son to the care of friends who tragically did not deserve her trust,” she said.

Based on the report of SWADO which in turn includes data from medico legal findings, the little boy suffered injuries  that  caused him to hemorrhage — intracranial, cerebellar, and  meningeal. The official cause of death is inter-cranial hemorrhage and a severe secondary to stab wound to the head.

“The Davao City government has shouldered all the funeral expenses and is providing John’s mother free legal counsel so she can pursue justice against those who killed her son,” Sec. Taguiwalo said.

The boy was interred yesterday, November 23, 2016 at the Davao Memorial Park.

DSWD  FO XI staff attended and witnessed the interment ceremony and gave John Earl’s family financial assistance of P5000.

Five (5) Food packs were also given to the family, and more will be given if deemed necessary in the coming days.

“It’s very difficult to accept that children as young as John Earl are being abused and even inadvertently killed by the very people trusted to care for them. We should all be more conscious of the inherent fragility of children and take better care of them given the delicate nature of their bodies, to say nothing about their minds and feelings. We condole with John Earl’s mother and the rest of their family and condemn what was done to the little boy. Hurting and murdering a defenseless child is not the act of civilized or humane people fit to be trusted around children or even around other adults. The violence the child was subjected to is contemptible and impossible to forgive,” Sec. Taguiwalo said.

Number of child abuse cases

The Secretary is also alarmed on the increasing number of child abuse cases reported to the Department.

From January to September of this year, the Department has already served 3,043 cases of child abuse. From the given data, 20.05% or 610 cases are from the National Capital Region (NCR), 13.67% or 416 cases are from Region III and 13.11% or 399 cases from Region IX.

In addition, Sec. Taguiwalo called for public action to end violence and abuse against children.

“We at the DSWD reiterate our call to all Filipinos to stop violence against children and to be vigilant against those who attack or undermine their rights. We urge everyone to take a proactive stance and immediately report any incident of child abuse and exploitation,” Sec. Taguiwalo said. ###