In the previous post, I wrote about my views on the suicide of Mariannet Amper. Though many people were convinced that it was poverty that pushed Mariannet to kill herself, some were ready to point out that it may not be the sole reason or that there could be a stronger reason for it still.
In a news article last November 13, it was reported that Mayor Duterte ordered for the body of Mariannet Amper, buried last Saturday, to be exhumed so that an autopsy may be done and the real cause of her death determined.
What if there’s a deeper reason why Mariannet chose to kill herself than live?
After the autopsy was done, the medico-legal of the Scene of the Crime Operation (S.O.C.O) in Southern Mindanao said that Mariannet Amper might have been raped. There were tears found in the hymen area and in the laceration area, though most are healed.
I think it is a better fit as the immediate reason why Mariannet became so depressed that she killed herself. A child wouldn’t be as much troubled with poverty if he’s happy in his family, even with very little in life, as much as if he’s abused at home by his own people or by the people he trust so much. It could also be a reason why she would rather stay in school than home or in their neighborhood, where the abuse probably occurred. I am not saying that it was Mariannet’s father who did it, if she was sexually abused. It could be someone she knows or someone in their immediate vicinity.
I understand why the family has been hesitant to exhume the body. For all the hurt that they’ve gone through, it is just that they be given peace for a while, away from the prying eyes of other people and the media.
However, if it could shed a light in the rather hazy details of Mariannet’s death and bring the criminal to justice (if there’s someone who violated her), then, why not?
So there’s the new twist. This new bit of information seemed to have lessened the romanticism that has been built around the story of Mariannet. But never less pitiful.
I think we should continue to dig into this case. If Mariannet was indeed sexually abused, the criminal should be caught and justice served.
November 15th, 2007 at 22:03
Oh my! This is just sad. Yes, Mariannet’s choice killed her but it’s always good to understand the factors that influence her choice.
If the tears are healed already then it was quite some time now since she was raped and it’s possible that her parents knew about this.
I join you and everyone who calls for justice for Mariannet.
Frances’s last blog post: Critical Thinking
November 15th, 2007 at 23:05
Even at death, the girl and the family can’t find peace. With Mariannet gone, this secret (?) may have been burried with her.
Sonnie’s last blog post: Explosion, Again?!
November 16th, 2007 at 2:26
I don’t get to watch the news anymore. Nakakalungkot naman.
This does shed a little more light on the incident. It makes a little more sense now. Poverty-driven suicides are, as far as I know, not very common in our country. We’ve proven ourselves resilient to poverty and I think religion also influences our view/disapproval of suicide.
Ann’s last blog post: Fruityoaty iz teh shiz
November 16th, 2007 at 18:28
to Frances:
“but it’s always good to understand the factors that influence her choice.”
— that’s why it’s good that we should realize this isn’t simply a case of I’m-poor-I-can’t-handle-it-anymore-I-want-to-die issue. Poverty could just be the tip of the iceberg. But there are deeper more compelling reasons underneath that influenced her to make that choice.
November 16th, 2007 at 18:36
to Sonnie:
That’s why they exhumed the body. So that forensic evidences can be gathered from it which could help enlighten the authorities about the case. It seems that it wasn’t just a simple depression-suicide case.
November 16th, 2007 at 18:42
Oh my! My heart goes to the girl.
I believe it is just right that the authorities are making further investigation about her case and I hope that once they succeeded in their investigation and once they proved that someone have to be responsible for something (if not her death) then that person should be punished.
Vienna’s last blog post: Wordpress Allows Payperpost Now?
November 16th, 2007 at 19:04
to Ann:
It is indeed sad Attributing the suicide to poverty is merely scratching the surface. Like you said, poverty in itself is not a common reason for suicides, for both adults and children. There’s a more personal reason underneath I believe.
November 16th, 2007 at 20:17
I thought of that possibility but I never focused on that aspect until the news came out.
I tried putting myself in the situatuion, If I’m a poor 12-year-old Arlo Cordova and I’ve been through what Mariannet had been through as what she has written in her diary, maybe I’ll lose hope but then I don’t think I’d commit suicide. I don’t know, maybe I think of it because I was not Mariannet. But I was aware then that death is painful.
I’m not even sure if the diary is really written by Mariannet. It could be just some part of the culprit’s plan, that is, if she’s really raped.
Arlo’s last blog post: Malicieux Richelieu
November 17th, 2007 at 10:19
Usually, every child’s death, especially if abuse or neglect is suspected should be properly autopsied by competent forensic pathologist. But again even the medical expert could also make mistakes.
Such is the case of one of the Pathologists of the Famous Hospital for Sick Kids in Toronto. A Public Inquiry is now Ongoing to review his conduct which resulted in 20 suspected mistake resulting in 13 convictions in courts for Crimes against Children upon the Pathologist Expert Testimonies against the next of Kin of Victims including rapes, assaults, failures to provide necessities and During the opening of the Inquiry the Doctor thru his lawyer admitted that he may have made mistakes in those cases out of hundreds he performed during his career.
Some of the convicted have already been in jails for up to ten years and now they are all out in jail pending review of their cases. One uncle has alre ady been declared not guilty, and soon maybe exonerated (declared innocent), depending and how the inquiry concluded and they will be all compensated in millions.
My point here, in case of Ms Amper, that should have been considered in the first place, and believe me, out of these hundred of cases of child abuses and criminal court proceedings, none, not a single child or their direct family had been identified in the Media, that is how responsible our Press here and even we bloggers who may know personally of the personalities involved, can not identify them or we will be in deep, deep trouble if we violate that privacy of the minors..
vic’s last blog post: Lest We Forget…
November 17th, 2007 at 21:58
so much has been written about mariannet and the cause of her death. when the news first broke out I couldn’t believe that poverty could drive a 12 year old to suicide. the recent discovery of the rape angle convinces me that this is the real cause.
(by the way, I have something for you in my blog)
November 18th, 2007 at 10:06
This was quite shocking. Napanood ko siya sa TV pero inattentive ako. Anyway, how… tragic. To think na “poverty” can affect young minds din pala. But to the point na it would push them to have these suicidal tendencies?
That’s just really sad.
November 18th, 2007 at 21:52
while her death is definitely very tragic and should have been averted, i think her case is a case of bad timing and sensationalism. imagine GMA having a meeting regarding poverty and here comes a girl who took her life due to poverty, very headline-grabber di ba?
still, the sensational media cannot be blamed. we should have avoided these things only if we had a good and long-term poverty alleviation program that actually works rather than just a tap-on-the-back lip service that they usually give on political gatherings.
and as always, the GMA administration tries to shy away from every issue, they invented a “rape” probability vis-a-vis to make it looked like there are other factors that caused her to kill herself.
if it is proven that she was somehow sexually abused, I will gladly shake Duterte’s hand and have the perpetrator hanged.
November 19th, 2007 at 20:55
to Arlo:
Yes, it is very difficult to imagine Mariannet’s situation, well, at least for me. Though I’m not rich, I’m not as poor as Mariannet was. Though I’ve had bouts of sadness, I don’t think I’ve been really as depressed as she had been.
It would be easy to prove if she wrote the entries in the “diary”. One just have to compare the handwriting in the diary with her notes from school (I’m sure she must have had at least one notebook, no matter how tattered, that she used in school). But a more interesting question would be: what are the other entries in her diary about? We’re focusing our attention on the entries that are being fed by the media on TV to us over and over but we have to remember that there are also other entries in that diary. So we cannot really conclude it’s simply about poverty that she got depressed about and decided to kill herself out of hopelessness that she’ll ever get out of poverty. But, of course, we do not really have the right to mess with her diary, even after death. Except maybe the authorities who’re trying to investigate the mystery surrounding her death.
November 19th, 2007 at 21:02
to vic:
“Usually, every child’s death, especially if abuse or neglect is suspected should be properly autopsied by competent forensic pathologist. But again even the medical expert could also make mistakes.”
— Yes, of course, we all make mistakes. But whenever we begin any venture, I think it’s healthy to suppose that in the beginning all findings are reliable until proven otherwise. I think those findings by the medico-legal is enough to raise reasonable suspicion that there could be something else about Mariannet’s death other than suicide. Suicide is the final act but what pushed her to do it?
I agree that it incidents of suicides should have been kept a little more private, if only for the sake of the family and the peace they deserve after they’ve lost a loved one. But if there was a criminal act involved either directly or indirectly, then authorities should dig deeper to find the real root of the problem. The problem I see with what happened with the Mariannet case is that the media has sensationalized the story too much.
November 19th, 2007 at 21:05
to monaco:
Yup, I’ve seen your multiply blog. Thanks
Poverty may be one of the reasons for her to commit suicide but I believe it is not the strongest reason that pushed her over the edge. I hope they investigate more on the rape angle of the case because if there indeed was rape, then the criminal should be brought to justice.
November 19th, 2007 at 21:11
to utakGAGO:
I don’t think it’s really poverty that pushed Mariannet to kill herself. There’s still the rape angle that’s still being investigated. I believe it’s a stronger reason for any child to be confused and lonely and eventually get depressed because how can she even tell anyone about what happened? Worse would be if the perpetrator of the crime was someone she trusted? And though she’s still young, at her age she may already have some idea of what sex is and that she knows what happened to her is bad. All that confusion can lay heavily on a child’s mind and if she do not have the support she needed, it might just push one over the edge, especially those who’re vulnerable.
November 19th, 2007 at 21:15
to BURAOT:
“we should have avoided these things only if we had a good and long-term poverty alleviation program that actually works rather than just a tap-on-the-back lip service that they usually give on political gatherings…”
— Hmmm, do you really think that if we’re able to eradicate poverty, or alleviate it, Mariannet wouldn’t have killed herself?
November 26th, 2007 at 13:38
A rather late comment, pero here goes: The search for another motive (ie, sexual abuse) other than poverty for her suicide is of the assumption that children today aren’t exposed to realities that can really be depressing. We expect children nowadays to know more about sex, money, and politics (thanks to the media and to parenting problems)… we shouldn’t be so surprised when they kill themselves due to poverty or money problems. These have become problems of children as well in today’s world.
aloyloy’s last blog post..Numbers
November 26th, 2007 at 17:34
to aloyloy:
“The search for another motive (ie, sexual abuse) other than poverty for her suicide is of the assumption that children today aren’t exposed to realities that can really be depressing.”
– But not to search for all possible motives would be an injustice, wouldn’t it? Especially if there are findings that suggest poverty may not be the only reason.