DAVAO City—Kean Gabriel was to celebrate his fourth birthday last Oct. 29.
Since his mother and stepfather could not afford a party, the best the boy had hoped for was a plate of pancit and a ‘Happy Birthday’ song from his siblings and friends in the community.
There would be no cake, no candles to blow, neither balloons. Like the past three years, nothing extra special.
Except that even the simplest way to mark his milestone—a simple birthday party as it were—could not happen anymore.
For Kean was no longer there—only the name and the memory of a child killed two months before he could turn four.
The 21-year-old killer was Kean’s stepfather, who beat him for misbehaving, forcibly placed him inside a sack he placed atop a cabinet inside their one-room house in Matina Pangi.
The sack, the boy, fell off to the floor several times. His head injuries were fatal.
The abuse happened while Kean’s mother watched but did nothing to save her son.
Post-mortem report revealed severe internal hemorrhage inside the boy’s head.
At his wake, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio could not hide her disgust.
“No child deserves such a death,” she said. “No three-year-old child or any child of whatever age should die or suffer from abuse or neglect from the hands of anybody.”
She stressed: “Children should, at all times, be protected.”
Because of Kean’s death, the mayor formed a group dedicated to rescue abused children.
The team is composed of social workers, police officers, health professionals, and paralegals.
Duterte also ordered to set up the Kean Gabriel Hotline.
Information about abused children can be reported by calling or texting 0908-8184444.
A team will be dispatched to rescue the abused child. The hotline is under the Quick Response Team for Children Center of City Social Services and Development Office (QRTCC-CSSDO), operating 24/7.
Juenalyn Pablo, QRTCC head, said 25 employees were recently trained on receiving reports, counseling and therapeutic voice and resiliency, and stress management.
The hotline is an inter-department effort, said Lorna Mandin, head of the Integrated Gender Development Division, noting it involves her office, the City Health Office, Central 911, the Philippine National Police and the CSSDO.
“It is primarily for prevention of child abuse. A help line for either the ‘victim’ or the witness of abuse happening in the community,” Mandin said.