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The murder of a 16-year-old youth and the gang-rape of his girlfriend in barangay Buaya, Lapu-Lapu City past midnight last Sunday underscored Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal's message about the spate of teen violence in Metro Cebu.
The young man was shot dead after four of the six perpetrators took turns raping the girl in his presence.
Despite the trauma, the girl managed to find the strength to report the crime to barangay officials.
That it happened several hours before the televised megabuck fight between People's Champ Manny Pacquiao and Joshua Clottey may not seem much, but considering the near-zero crime rate that is usual in the country whenever the Pacman climbs the ring, the attack is even more heinous.
The girl identified the perpetrators as members of the Bloods gang.
Back and forth, we?ve seen clashes of this kind on the street, wayward youths asserting their power, seeking revenge over some perceived slight, dragging non-combatants into their puerile wars.
With summer turning up the heat, and school terms ending, when will we see the police give full attention to the mayhem caused by the warfare between the Bloods and Crips? These two prime youth gangs have struck up as many blood scores as notorious fraternities.
Lapu-Lapu City first lady Paz Radaza questioned whether barangay officials strictly enforced a 10 p.m. curfew for minors.
The victims were out on a date in a grassy area where the attack took place past midnight. Indeed, where were the tanods? And where were the parents of these two youngsters?
While curfews are more honored in the breach in urban centers, the wisdom of keeping kids off the street and out of trouble at night has a lot of common sense behind it.
There would be fewer cases of random violence, for one. And the freedom of youth gangs to prowl the streets looking for action would be curtailed.
Consider the recent case of victims who were just sleeping by the roadside while rival gang members picked them off one by one at dawn. One victim happened to be a cousin of a gang member, but that didn?t matter when the shooting started.
The Cebu Archdiocese, with its Youth Day camps for faith-led teenagers, would need a special program to engage juvenile delinquents, especially hard core gang members.
In the meantime, law enforcement will have to step up intensity.
Ronda tanods should make use of ordinances that impose 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfews for minors as the first line of defense.
With not enough policemen to go around, patrols have to rely on the zeal of barangay officials to keep the neighborhood ? and innocent minors ? safe.
