mmalabanan
The 11-year-old pandesal vendor robbed of his earnings of about P200 while selling has gained the attention of Caloocan city’s mayor.
Last week, a video uploaded by Facebook user Christopher Pacheco showing Mark Christian ‘Kokey’ Santos trembling and seemingly traumatised by the incident quickly became viral.
Mayor Oscar Malapitan and Caloocan City’s public information chief Nolan Sison visited Kokey’s house in Caloocan on Saturday, October 11.
According to Sison, the child vendor revealed that he had been selling pandesal for two years in order to cover for his school allowance and his family’s food. Kokey would start selling bread, which he gets from a nearby bakery, at around 5:30am. At the end of the day, the boy would return the unsold pandesal to the bakery.
Kokey earns about P50 a day from selling pandesal.
The Unfortunate Incident
But on Thursday, October 9, an unfortunate incident happened to the young pandesal vendor. At around 6:00 to 6:30 am, a man wearing a cap approached him in the Deparo area in Caloocan.
“Come here, someone said he would buy your pandesal,” said the man.
Instead of buying pandesal from Kokey, the man covered his mouth, hugged him from behind, and pointed a knife to his side. Along with Kokey’s earnings, he took the boy’s pandesal box.
Sison explained: “The boy was left behind on the sidewalk crying because he lost everything and because he needed to get home. If not, his mother would scold him,”
Working Hard for a Bicycle
When Kokey was asked why he was working so hard, he told Malapitan that he wanted to buy a bicycle.
Malapitan quickly promised to give it to him.
In addition to the bicycle, the boy’s mother will be granted “certificate of livelihood starter package” worth P20,000 on Monday said Sison.
Kokey’s mother, who is a single parent, works as a laundrywoman. Sison said she can use the money grant to start her own business.
DSWD Debriefing
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Dinky Soliman said Kokey needs to undergo psycho-social debriefing since he got traumatised by the robbery incident.
Soliman added that they will provide educational assistance to the child vendor.
Kokey’s family will also be included in the beneficiary’s of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Robber Identified on CCTV
On Sunday, October 12, the man who robbed the child was positively identified via CCTV. In the news report by ABS-CBN newsman Dennis Datu, the child was called “Arnold”.
The actual holdup incident was not filmed but the suspect was seen in the vicinity minutes before the crime happened.
Caloocan Police Chief Inspector Fernando Reyes said that the following development will be instrumental in the immediate arrest of the suspect.
