Diskarte

A Position Paper for the “Diskarteng Bata”, a documentary of Kara David

“Thou shall not steal” this is the seventh out of the ten commandments of God.
Stealing or theft is the act taking a property of another wrongfully without consent whether it
be as a habit or a regular practice. In the Philippines theft is defined under Article 308 of the
Revised Penal Code. Theft is committed by any person who, with intent to gain, takes
personal property of another without the latter’s consent. The law does not specify a
minimum amount that must be stolen for the act to qualify as theft. As a criminal offense the
penalties may vary based on the property stolen, “petty theft” can have a penalty of 750 pesos
which means you have stolen but in small amounts. On the other hand, penalties may range
from arresto manor (1 to 30 days of imprisonment) to prision mayor (imprisonment for 6
years and 1 day to 12 years), depending on various factors. From this point of view, we can
say that in any circumstances a person should never steal. But how about if a minor does this
‘stealing’, is it fair if they were condemned for that act?

The documentary tackles the issues of the children in conflict with the law, where in a
very young age they now have to make a living which is sometimes in the act of stealing.
Here in the Philippines, we have the Republic Act No. 9344 where it states the minimum age
of criminal responsibility. A child which is 15 years or under may be exempted from criminal
liability. However, pursuant to the section 20 of this act they may be subjected to an
intervention program. ‘Dodong’ a boy who at a very young age of 7 started stealing, he was
caught and put in a youth center for 3 times in order to rehabilitate him, despite this he still
continues this “Diskarte” or “Diskarteng Bata” as this is the only means of his living, the only
means that he knows in order to help not just himself but his family as well. Dodong also
talks about how he learned the other types of stealing through his peers on the youth center.
And now, as someone who knows how the life on the streets goes, he teaches that knowledge
to others as well. Roy is not different from Dodong, a child who grew up in the streets got
rehabilitated once but still under circumstances was sent to prison. He talks how life
circumstances can make you do things that is unethical to the eyes of the individuals who has
never experienced your life.

There is now an issue, if it is possible that minors or 12 above may now be subjected
to criminal liability. At first my opinions sided with law, as people have their own minds and
are capable of knowing what is wrong or right. However, after watching this documentary I
realized that Dodong and Roy, or even JM who died due to car accident doesn’t really have a
choice, they are what we call the “victims of circumstances”. Have they been on the better
side of things wont think about stealing in order to earn a living. And now Kara David asks
Roy if is it still possible for someone like Dodong to change or experience the better things.
He said yes, the faith of their future lies within their own decisions whether they want to
change.

A child doesn’t have the full capacity for post-conventional reasoning, they should be
guided by an adult for proper decision-making. Punishing them does not really help the case.
One might say that we should have law about this, but we already have or else the
Department of Social Welfare and Development won’t exist. I think the problem is not on the
law, it is on how the officials administer it to the public. It is easy to pass judgement as we
base things on ethics, even I cannot fully take their side as I believe that the end does not
justify the means. But if we take a closer look on things, we really can’t blame them, they are
the presentation of how life can be cruel. I believe another punishment won’t help them, as
another generation of them would exist after another. The cycle of violence and injustice will
repeat. So as long as we don’t share the common ground, as long as we don’t look on the
other side of the things, we don’t understand how circumstances can affect a person moral,
another set of generation of children would still live under the principles of the “Diskarteng
Bata”