THERE ARE times when the challenges of daily life sadden and discourage us, even when we are doing our very best to serve and help the needy. Many believers find encouragement in the inspiring words of Jesus of Nazareth. He said to not lose heart, but to have a stronger conviction that trying your best is all that is needed. Never give up seeking justice, doing good, and opposing evil — this is the heart of faith. As Saint James the Apostle wrote: “Faith without action is dead.”
The outcome may not be perfect or what we hope and plan for, but as long as we tried and tried again, we have done our duty. One day, we will succeed. The carpenter from Nazareth told us that his spirit is with us. He is the force of goodness and truth.
Jesus once told a story about the widow who could not get justice from an irresponsible judge, but she never gave up trying. One day, the judge, now worn down, said to himself: “Even though I do not fear God or respect people, but because this widow keeps demanding justice and will not stop giving me endless trouble, I will give her justice and her rights. If I do not, she will keep on coming and wear me out.”
“So, my friends, listen to the words of that judge and realize that God will surely come to the help of those who cry out for justice. He will come to their help quickly,” Jesus said.
Special children’s court
So we now come to the judges in the courts of Macabebe in Pampanga, of Malolos in Bulacan and elsewhere in the Philippines, and we call on all good people to join this nonstop appeal for the justices of the Supreme Court to establish a special children’s court. This appeal has been pending for years after the United Nations special rapporteur on children’s rights urged the justices to do it. This special children’s court will resolve cases within the 90 days the Supreme Court justices have set. In their wisdom, we pray that the justices will do it, as they have established several special courts in the past for other purposes. Why not a special children’s court for the most vulnerable in society, the children?
Many child sexual abuse cases can take two or three years. The irresponsible judges with many unresolved cases allow proceedings to be delayed, favoring the accused, like in Macabebe, for example. There, some cases that drag on for three years have been reported to the Supreme Court already without action.
There are millions of children enduring severe abuse in this country, and the adults — parents, relatives, police and judges — are failing to help them secure justice and healing. Data from the UN Children Fund (Unicef) and the Philippine government itself show that 23 million children — or three in five — suffer violent discipline. One out of every three children suffers from bullying, in school or not, according to 2022 Program for International Student Assessment data. Child marriages still exist despite laws banning them. One in six girls is “married off” or given as a sex slave to an older man before turning 18. As of 2024, approximately 513,000 Filipino children were engaged in hazardous labor. What has become of the beautiful Philippines, where such gross abuses happen?
That is not all. In 2021, Unicef reported that approximately 2 million children in the Philippines were subjected to online sexual abuse and exploitation. One in five internet-using children are estimated to be sexually abused or exploited online. (To be continued)/PN
