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On 2nd chances: Children in conflict with the law'Give them a chance, they're victims too,' say child's rights advocates
Fritzie Rodriguez
@fritzdrodriguez
Published 7:54 PM, December 22, 2014
Updated 1:00 PM, September 01, 2015
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CHILDREN. There are over 11,000 Filipino children in conflict with the law, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council reported. Most of them come from low-income families. File photo by Fritzie Rodriguez/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines — Give them a second chance.
“These children lost their way because their community or family did not guide them,” said Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman. “We ask your support in recognizing the rights of these children to be children.”
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched a campaign supporting children in conflict with the law (CICL) on Saturday, December 20, by producing 3 short videos promoting CICL rights.
The videos will be shown as cinema plugs during the Metro Manila Film Festival, as well as in movie theatres across Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, and Davao City. The film festival opens on Christmas Day, December 25.
The Philippines is home to over 11,000 CICL as of 2009, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) reported. These are children “accused or adjudged of committing an offense under Philippine laws.”
DSWD stressed that these children deserve a second chance to become productive members of society. Instead of punishment, the focus should be on their rehabilitation.
“More than looking at the CICL with anger and rebuke, let us look at them with understanding, as most often, they are victims of circumstances,” Soliman added.
Kids, jails, laws
It must be tough growing up in the streets.
DSWD observed that most CICL come from poor families, and have stopped schooling. Most are males between 14 to 17 years old, but some cases involve much younger children.
Some have families, but for other children, family means nothing. Some were raised not by parents, but by syndicates pushing them to a life of crime.
Theft is the most common offense, the Philippine National Police reported, with the National Capital Region having the most cases, followed by Central and Western Visayas.
Another problem reported is “gangsterism,” which can give children access to alcohol and drugs. When they sniff rugby, they no longer feel hungry, offering a temporary escape to a problem they face daily.
“We should look deeper why these children turned out like this. Who teaches them? Isn’t it adults? They're the ones that need to be jailed, not children,” said Soliman.
It must be tougher growing up behind bars.
The Philippines never gave much thought to CICL until 2006 when the "Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act” or Republic Act 9344 was passed.
Prior to this law, children were locked up in jails together with adults even for petty offenses. They were vulnerable to abuse during arrest and detention. An average of 10,515 children were arrested every year, DSWD reported.
That’s one child per hour.
The plight of child prisoners was exposed in the 2005 documentary “Bunso,” featuring the lives of boys detained in a Cebu jail. Kids dealt with less-than-humane living conditions; racing for meager meals distributed in buckets; sleeping on cold concrete next to rows and rows of bodies; and either obeying or fighting older, bigger inmates.
By the end of the film, one boy died from heart failure brought about by drug abuse.
“This was because the criminal justice system was adult-oriented,” according to DSWD, noting the absence of child-sensitive interventions at the time.
RA 9344 was a landmark legislation establishing a new system wherein “children can be held accountable” without incarceration. The law focused on prevention and reintegration programs to lessen children’s risk of “re-offending.”
It established JJWC and raised the age of criminal responsibility from 9 to 15 years old. This means that those aged 15 and below are “exempt from criminal liability,” but subjected to intervention programs. This also applies to those older than 15 but under 18, unless they “acted with discernment.”
'Hope'
REHABILITATION. DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman calls on the public to recognize the rights of CICL, stressing the need for rehabilitation instead of punishment. Photo by Fritzie Rodriguez/Rappler
In 2012, RA 10630 amended the earlier law and required local government units (LGUs) to manage juvenile intervention and support centers called “Bahay Pag-asa” (House of Hope).
As of 2014, there are 21 such houses nationwide:
Region Municipality/Province
CAR Abra
NCR Pasig City
II Cauayan City, Isabela
III Botolan, ZambalesSan Jose City, Nueva EcijaTalavera, Nueva Ecija
IV-A Calauan, LagunaBacoor, Cavite
IV-B Puerto Princessa City
VI Mina, Iloilo
VIII Naval, Biliran
X Claveria, Misamis OrientalTudela, Misamis Occidental
XI Tugbok District, Davao CityNabuturan, Compostela valleyBanaybanay, Davao OrientalMati City New Corella, Davao del Norte
CARAGA Surigao CityTandag City
Source: DSWD, JJWC
Four houses are funded by LGUs, 12 by Senator Francis Pangilinan, 4 by Senator Pia Cayetano, and one funded by JJWC. Overall, Bahay Pag-asa centers have handled 589 cases as of November 2014.
Some cases, however, remain unreported – which also means that some CICL do not get the help they need.
The amended law allocated P400 million for the establishment of Bahay Pag-asa centers across provinces and highly urbanized cities. Aside from temporary
shelters, the houses also provide victim assistance, health and education services, counseling, and skills training.
Parents of CICL are also counseled.
The new law also imposes maximum penalty against adults who exploit children to commit crime. It transferred the JJWC from the Department of Justice to DSWD.
Soliman denied claims that former CICL are thrown back to the streets; if neccessary, they are transferred to a Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth (RRCY) managed by DSWD.
However, those younger than 6 are returned to their families. In the absence of capable families, the child is placed in other care institutions run by DSWD, LGUs, or non-governmental organizations.
Cracks
The problem in the Philippines is not the lack of laws, advocates say, but the lack of teeth of these laws.
In October, media reports on the alleged bad conditions experienced by street children inside an LGU-run center revealed bigger cracks within the country’s child welfare system.
Almost two months since news on “Frederico” broke out, two Senate resolutions have been filed.
“We did an investigation, we’re finishing it. We’ll also coordinate with the city of Manila for them to undertake corrective measures," Soliman said. "If they can’t handle it, we’ll reduce children in their centers. They’ll be absorbed by DSWD facilities and NGOs."
MAYOR'S VISIT. Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada visits RAC, a center for street kids. Photo from manila.gov.ph
The inquiry on centers for street children also paved the way for more questions; this time, on the condition of CICL centers.
Since 2006, children are no longer detained in jails. However, advocates argue that some Bahay-Pagasa centers are not far from jails.
“Most of these LGU-run centers are substandard, young children are abused by older, bigger children, sometimes even with the knowledge and worse, consent of the staff,” Francis Bermido Jr, executive director of Preda Foundation, told Rappler.
Preda is a human rights organization and a JJWC member. “As a member of the council, we're trying to influence local governments to improve the conditions in their centers,” Bermido said.
“But the problem will never have a solution until the government put
BARS. Yakap Bata center in Caloocan. Photo from Fr Shay Cullen/Preda
professionally trained people in charge of centers that's daily monitored and transparent,” added Fr Shay Cullen, founder of Preda.
Cullen calls for stricter monitoring of how such centers use their budget, asking for the Commission on Audit’s help. He also observed that some centers lack development programs and have detention-like environments, “They’re like fish in a glass bowl.”
Lawyer Tricia Oco, JJWC executive director, admitted that there are still several LGUs which “have not reached the highest accreditation standards of DSWD.”
“We are helping these LGUs on this,” Oco added. Aside from monitoring centers, the JJWC will also train police officers on handling cases involving CICL.
DSWD invited Preda and other advocates to help the government improve CICL programs.
“What children see, they'll think is right,” Soliman said. “So let’s be good examples for children.” –Rappler.com
DSWD asks the public to report a child in conflict with the law (CICL) to local social welfare and development offices, or call the DSWD CICL hotline at 951-7433 or the JJWC hotline at 921-9065.
To learn more about PREDA, to volunteer or donate, you may contact them at 472-224-994 [email protected]. You may report cases of abuse at 0917-532-4453.
Filed under:Bahay Pag-asa DSWD Dinky Soliman JWCC PREDA RA 10630 RA 9344 Shay Cullen children children in conflict with the law children's rights human rights street children CICL
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EDUCATION
From street child to Atenean: The story of RustyHere is a story of how a street child, exposed to drugs and crime at a young age, went against all odds and graduated from Ateneo
Bobby Lagsa
Published 5:36 PM, April 13, 2015Updated 5:40 PM, April 13, 2015
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CLASSMATES. Rusty graduated from Xavier University- Ateneo de Cagayan with a bachelor's degree in Development Communication. Rusty was a former street kid who, with sheer determination, was able to get off the street. All photos by Bobby Lagsa
CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – In late 2009, 20-year-old Rusty Quintana lined up at a classroom in Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan for a shot at one of the scholarship grants that the university offered.
Though unsure that he would get a chance of entering his dream university, he queued up anyway.
Rechelle Tolinero, a faculty of the Development Communication Department at XU, said that she first met Rusty on that day for an interview for a scholarship grant. “We knew right there that he was different, that there was something about him,” Tolinero said.
Rusty was wearing his best clothes that day – though his best was an almost tattered shirt and faded pants. He did not cut his hair for a while and his thick kinky hair stood out.
A native of the Agusan river in Barangay Florida in Butuan City with lineage from the indigenous Banwahon tribe, Rusty‘s brown skin and hair is hard not to miss.
“When it was his part for the interview, Rusty was quick to point out that if possible, we converse in Bisaya because he cannot speak English,” Tolinero said.
In fact, Rusty did not finish his elementary and high school.
Rusty was only armed with a diploma from the Alternative Learning System (ALS) of the Department of Education, a proof that he is eligible to enter college.
“But what struck us the most is his honesty and straight forward demeanor, when he came here, he had no pretentions that he knew something, or (that) he could speak English, unlike those who came before him in the queue who struggled to speak in English just to prove a point,” Tolinero said.
The kid from the streets
Rusty is a street kid who grew up outside the grand gates of Xavier University, near the historic Plaza Divisoria.
He was just 7 years old when he was plucked out of their home by his older brother, Rodolfo Quintana Jr, and was brought to Cagayan de Oro City in 1996, to get away from their troubled home.
Upon reaching Cagayan de Oro, they lived in shanties near the CDO River. There, Rusty spent his days outside the gates of XU, asking for some change and hanging out at the statue of Ramon Magsaysay.
One day, his brother disappeared. He later learned learned that he was arrested by the police on charges of drug pushing.
Rusty would soon find himself at the Mother Theresa Foundation, a shelter in Upper Puerto, where he spent almost 4 years.
While there, he attended Grade 5 "without proper documents, no birth certificate, no school record" because he just "attended school to learn."
He was set for adoption by a foster home but fell ill with dengue and was later admitted to the Maria Reyna Hospital.
While at the hospital, recently released Rodolfo Jr found and took him back to Isla Delta where he was "exposed to criminal life" once again.
At 11 years old, he was asked to do drug runs by people in their community and, sometimes, he stole from other people. Soon enough, he got addicted to drugs and spent his days with other rugby boys in the area.
“We would inhale rugby, smoke dope, get high and pass out (due to) hunger,” Rusty said.
It was not long before he too was arrested by the police and was housed in Tahanan ng Kabataan, a rescue center for children in conflict with the law (CICL).
“It was soon to be that I would go in and out of the center, and at one point, I helped others escape the center, that after I was caught again, the center refused me already and I was put at the Lumbia City Jail with other minors,” Rusty said with a grin.
While at the city jail, Rusty said that he was made to confess to a crime he did not commit but was told that after the confession, he would be transferred to the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth (RRCY) in Gingoog City.
At the RRCY, Rusty was put on rehab and was cared for. His crimes were erased from police records.
In 2006, after spending two years at the RRCY, Rusty was again free. But he was homeless and went back to Divisoria.
From dream arts to dire husi
In 2007, Rusty saw an art exhibit at the City Tourism house, a block away from the Magsaysay Park where he frequents.
“I saw the paintings and sculptures and it captured my imagination,” Rusty said.
Rusty spent his days staring at the art works wondering who the artists were before eventually meeting Rhyan Casino, founder of Deri Husi Initiative, Inc. months later.
“He actually approached me, with a bamboo flute in hand while I was sketching at one of the tables,” Casino said. "We did not know each other."
HUMAN STATUE. Rusty Quintana performs as a human statue in Plaza Divisoria in 2008
The two formed a bond bounded by art where Rusty learned to develop his visual arts skills.
“I asked Rusty if he wanted to change himself, and he said yes, so I took him in where he learned to do henna tattoo as an income generating activity,” Casino said.
Deri Husi (Here Friend) Initiatives, Inc. provided Rusty and other street artists and runaways a shelter and development center for them to hone their craft. The group uses art as a means to attract street kids off the streets.
“His determination is undeniable, where other students would just quit at small problem, he on the other hand never stops,” Casino said.
Admittance at XU
In 2010, Rusty was admitted to XU with a scholarship. He decided to study Development Communication and major in Education Communication. He could not believe that he got in, much less become a scholar.
“I know that getting in is just the first step and I worried that I may never survive the first semester,’ Rusty said.
It wasn't an easy journey, Tolinero said, as Rusty did have a hard time while at school.
To sustain his education, he had to work while studying. He needed money for food and endless photocopies of books he couldn't afford.
The P5,700 allowance given as part of his grant was not enough, so he soldart pens in campus and online.
A semester before graduating, Rusty found himself doing his thesis all alone after he was dropped from his thesis group. However, he persevered and in two months, was able to produce a full thesis on the Indigenous People's Skills and Knowledge.
GRADUATION. Rusty Quintana on his graduation day with his father, Rodolfu Quintana.
Giving back
Last March 28, 2015, Rusty donned his toga and marched on his graduation day.
But even with a college degree, Rusty does not forget where he came from.
He pays forward by spending time with street kids, talking to them and encouraing them to get skills development as a way to get out of the streets - hoping they'll get inspiration from his journey.
Rusty drew strength from the people he met while he was still struggling.
“I always remember my conversations with people who (have) experienced and are experiencing hardship and I found that nothing in life is easy,” Rusty said. “It does not take much to get off the street. You don’t need money to get off, you need a mountain of desire to get off the street."
Hungry for success
Determination was one of the things that helped him succeed despite a harsh past.
“He is not the brightest, smartest scholar, but he made up for it with sheer determination and drive, almost a hunger, and a motivation to do better,” Tolinero said.
Now, Rusty hopes to help other communities and his family.
“I am now considering the idea of working for a non-governmental organization where I can put my skills into action for a better community but at the same time giving my art some time to mature,” Rusty said. “I have now my father, my siblings and a nephew to think about, I must work for them, but they have to learn how to live too."
And that's a testament to his method of madness, his creative juices and frustrations molded into one and ending in a fusion of creative flow that in his own words: a healing process. – Rappler.com
Bobby Lagsa is a freelance photojournalist from Cagayan De Oro.Filed under:alternative learning school ateneo de cagayan education graduation xavier university xavier university - ateneo de cagayan street kid Show 37 Comments
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Duterte wants to amend Juvenile Justice LawDuterte says law enforcers have a hard time dealing with minors who violate the law because the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act only allows the police to turn over the suspects to social workers
Rappler.com
Published 7:41 PM, June 10, 2015Updated 7:57 AM, June 11, 2015
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RUNNING OR NOT? Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte says he wants to study the Juvenile Justice Law. He was with NAIA taxi drivers and operators last June 3. File photo by Joel Leporada/Rappler
MANILA, Philippines – To prevent syndicates from using youth offenders to carry out their criminal operations, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte wants to amend the Juvenile Justice Law authored by former senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 provides that young criminals aged 15 years old and below should not be imprisoned or punished even if they commit a heinous crime.
Under the law, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is required to determine whether a youth offender aged between 16 and 18 acted with discernment.
If the DSWD establishes that the youth offender acted without discernment, he or she is put under the care of the department for “diversion” or “intervention”. If the crime was done with discernment, the youth offender is referred to the prosecutor or judge.
In a press statement, Duterte said that most of the time, discernment is not proven and law enforcers are left with no choice but to let the youth offenders go scot-free. This emboldens them to be more aggressive and commit more crimes because they know that when they are apprehended, they will not be jailed anyway.
Duterte said that based on his experience, law enforcers have a hard time dealing with minors who violate the law because the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act only allows the police to turn over the suspects to social workers.
In Davao City, two boys aged 14 and 16 were recently taken into custody for allegedly killing a 15-year-old boy in Ecoland Subdivision. The victim was stabbed several times and died while being treated at a nearby hospital.
Duterte said that should he seek the presidency, the amendment of the Juvenile Justice law will be among the issues he will study.
He added that besides the faulty provision of the law, the primary problem is still poverty. “Kung gutom ang isang tao, kakapit na 'yan sa patalim makakuha lang ng panlaman sa tiyan,” Duterte said. (When a person is hungry, he will do desperate things just to satisfy his hunger.) – Rappler.com
Children in crime: Cracks in the country's juvenile justice systemBy: Annie Ruth C. Sabangan, InterAksyon.comOctober 9, 2011 1:22 PMInterAksyon.comThe online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines – How do you make criminals out of children? Put them in areas where they won’t be able to meet their basic needs for food, water, shelter, health care, education and sanitation. Strip them of their rights to develop and maintain a life of dignity so that they’ll grow up uneducated and unemployed. Mire them in places where there is no solution to despair and destitution.
In the Philippines, where the plight of majority of the poor remains largely unaddressed, many places become breeding grounds for youth offenders. While many of these children were able to rise from the rut---proving that poverty isn’t a justifiable excuse for committing crime--thousands of other juveniles have failed to get out of the trap and are forced to break the law primarily to survive.
At the Center for Restorative Activities Development and Learning Experiences (CRADLE) in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig City, most of the 74 male children aged 15 and above who are accused of crimes come from poor families, mostly from depressed areas in Paranaque, Pasig, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, San Juan, and Malabon. The place is run by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.
“Pinakamaraming kaso ng mga bata sa amin ay crime against property tulad ng theft at robbery.Galing sila sa pamilyang mahihirap…hindi sila nakapag-aral. Kailangan nilang tumulong sa pamilya, kailangang kumita ng pera," says Norma Marcelino, social welfare officer of CRADLE where children in conflict with the law (CICL) are being housed while their cases are being heard in family courts.
[Most of the cases involving CICLs in CRADLE consist of crimes against property such as theft and robbery…Most of them come from poor families, they couldn’t attend school…They need to help their families, they need to earn money.]
At the DSWD’s Marillac Hills in Muntinlupa City also known as the National Training School for Girls, 28 female CICLs also aged 15 and above are housed while their criminal cases are being heard in the courts. Here, stories of poor girls from far-flung provinces victimized by internal trafficking are not uncommon.
Many of them who were forced to work as house help or caregivers in the metropolis were also charged with theft or robbery.
“We house several of them here. I knew of one 16-year-old girl from a poor farming community in Davao del Sur who was forced to work as a maid somewhere in Rizal province. Her employer charged her with qualified theft,” says Eva Villegas, a veteran social worker at Marillac.
Villegas says the girl received a phone call from a man whom she said sounded like her employer, and told her to bring money and jewelry to a certain place.
“The girl even went back to the house of her employer not knowing that it was not her boss but a different person who talked to her on the phone,” says Villegas.
CICLs in Tondo
In District I-Tondo consisting of 163 barangays, social worker Ma. Raquel Tubale of the Manila Department of Social Welfare (MDSW) doesn’t hide the fact that in her area, particularly in Parola or Barangay 20 where she is assigned, the rate of crimes involving children mostly from large but poor families are among the highest in the districts of Manila.
She says that CICLs in District I –Tondo, some as young as nine years old, are often engaged in property-related crimes such as theft and robbery, a matter attributed to deprivation and poverty.
According to Tubale, many of these CICLs are repeat offenders who start with committing petty crimes and then “graduate” on to being hardened criminals.
“Pickpocket lang dati, hanggang sa mang-snatch ng gamit, ma-involve sa robbery-hold-up tapos sumama sa mga grupo ng akyat-bahay gang [They start as pickpockets, then as snatchers and robbers until they become members of a group of house burglars],” says Tubale.
From February to August 2011,the MDSW in District I in Tondo recorded a total of 366 CICLs in the area or about 52 CICLs monthly, many of them engaged in property-related crimes and are repeat if not chronic offenders.
Crimes involving CILCs from depressed communities in District I are particularly rampant in Parola, according to Councilor Arnel “Bong” Parce, head of Barangay 20’s Committee on Peace and Order.
He says the barangay’s daily crime blotter is always filled with records of repeat youth offenders, mostly members of akyat-bahay gangs.
“Yung makapal naming blotter book kung minsan after two months lang ubos na ang pahina at dapat nang palitan dahil napuno na ngrecords ng CICLs [Sometimes we need to replace our thick blotter book with a new one after only two months because the previous one had already been filled with cases of CICLs],” Parce says.
Tragically, drugs is a key driver of crime, and may account, according to those who have observed the juvenile justice system since the 60s, for the anecdotal evidence of more and more of the younger offenders being implicated in not just petty crimes like theft, but occasionally even heinous ones like rape and murder.
Parce observes that most of the CICLs in his barangay first get high on drugs before they carry out the crime. “Marami dito tumitira muna ng solvent o acetone bago gumawa ng masama.”
National data on CICLs
Current statistics and CICL profiles from DSWD rehabilitation centers and from Tondo are reflective of earlier government national data on youth offenders -- an indication that the problem has persisted through the years.
A report from the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) shows that more than 52,000 children from 1995 to 2000 were reported to be in conflict with the law.
Separate data from the DSWD show that from 2001 to 2010, there were close to 64,000 CICLs served by the government. The presence of CICLs was highest in Region VI or Western Visayas, the National Capital Region, and Region XI or the Davao Region throughout the period.
Another 2010 report from the CWC on the “Situationer on Filipino Children” presents the profile of CICLs: usually male between the ages of 14 and 17; has low educational attainment; belongs to large, low-earning families of six members; charged with property-related crimes; use drugs; and alcohol; and has stopped schooling.
Holistic, restorative justice approach
Government efforts at resolving problems of CICLs resulted in the enactment of Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
Until the passage of R.A. 9344, the rules and procedures applicable to CICLs were no different from those being used for adult offenders, especially during the Marcos administration when the Judiciary Reorganization Act abolished in 1980 the juvenile and domestic relations courts. This resulted in the criminalization of children as general courts subjected minors to the same adversarial proceedings faced by adult suspects.
R.A. 9344 envisioned a holistic and restorative justice approach to addressing the plight of CICLs. Instead of punishing juvenile offenders and treating them as criminals, the approach aims at providing help to CICLs to prevent them from committing future offenses. Under this method, efforts at rehabilitating CICLs require the victim and the community to take an active role in the process.
Furthermore, the law prohibits the detention of children in jails. It likewise raises the age of criminal responsibility from nine under Presidential Decree 603 to a minimum of 15 years old. RA 9344 also exempts CICLs aged 15 and above from criminal liability unless the prosecution proves that they acted with discernment or the capacity to determine what is right and wrong.
Instead of going to trial, the law provides for the referral of children’s cases to community-based rehabilitation programs as well as juvenile delinquency prevention programs, rehabilitation, reintegration, and aftercare services.
A year after RA 9344’s implementation, data from the DSWD show that from a record of 8,661 CICLs served by the agency in 2006, the number decreased to a yearly average of about 2,500 from 2007 to 2009.
Rosalie Dagulo, chief of the DSWD’s Alternative Care and Placement Program Division, explains that the decreasing number of CICLs served by the agency did not mean that the number of youth offenders also went down.
She says that it only meant that the CICLs “were no longer subjected to punitive punishment” but were reintegrated with their parents after undergoing rehabilitation process under the supervision of community-based shelter centers.
Solution under attack
However, five years since it was implemented, some lawmakers, government officials, and law enforcers found RA 9344 ineffective. Some claimed that instead of addressing crimes involving minors, the law made the problem worse.
Among the law’s critics is Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero who is proposing that the minimum age of criminal responsibility be lowered back to nine as stipulated under P.D. 603 or the Child and Youth Welfare Code of 1974.
Escudero, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, claims that RA 9344’s raising of the age of criminal responsibility to 15 has resulted in more crimes perpetrated by minors.
He says that criminal syndicates use juveniles in their illegal operations because they know that under the law, minors can go scot-free even if they act as drug couriers and crime agents.
The senator’s point was highlighted after the media recently reported the case of “Batang Hamog,” a group of children caught on camera attacking vehicles in Makati City that were stuck in traffic during rush hours. The group’s modus operandi is for a member to knock on the window of the unsuspecting driver while other members open the car door on the other side and snatch whatever valuables they could take from the vehicle.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, former PNP chief, shares Escudero’s view. Though he doesn’t want minors to be put inside prison cells of common criminals, the legislator also wants CICLs punished.
”If you will notice, the age of the minors involved in crimes is getting younger. How can we serve justice if they are exempted in the crime they are committing?” says Lacson.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo also wants the law amended, for the same reasons pointed out by Escudero.
Robredo says that based on police intelligence reports, minors are getting bolder and braver in committing crimes because they now know that they will not be punished for their acts but will only be turned over to the DSWD.
A policeman interviewed recently by InterAksyon.com who requested anonymity says that in District I-Tondo, some parents from depressed areas who know about the exemptions under RA 9344 are involved in the crimes committed by their children.
“May mga kaso dito ng robbery-snatching na iyong magulang na lalaki ang magnanakaw tapos i-aabot doon sa bata tapos tatakbo. Pag nakaligtas ‘yung bata, presto, instant money, na pwedeng panustos sa pangangailangan nila," the policeman says.
[There are cases here of robbery-snatching involving fathers. They hand over their loot to their children who go scot-free with the instant money, which their family will use for their needs.]
This is also why PNP chief Nicanor Bartolome is now urging Congress to amend the law. He wants the age of discernment lowered to 12 because at that age, the child is “already in the right mind and can already think about the consequences of his actions.”
Bartolome made the call after a series of high-profile crimes involving children took place last September. Among them are the cases of the 13-year-old boy who shot his 16-year-old companion and then himself at the SM Mall in Pampanga; the 12-year-old boy accused of raping a three-year-old girl in Sta. Mesa, Manila; and the 15-year-old boy who admitted robbing, raping and nearly killing his employer in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Effective implementation, not amendment
But for the law’s supporters, amending RA 9344, specifically on lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility, is a short-sighted solution.
For DSWD division chief Dagulo, the effective implementation of the law and not its amendment will ensure the law’s success.
“The problem on CICLs will not end and there can never be genuine justice if the people see that the child should be solely responsible for the crimes he committed, but don’t take into account that it’s the political and socio-economic system that created the problem in the first place and that the child was only a victim of such systemic weakness,” says Dagulo.
Among the actions being proposed by the DSWD to ensure effective implementation of law is for the DILG to monitor LGU compliance with the provision related to the use of 1 percent of internal revenue allotment in support of the implementation of RA 9344.
The law mandates that the said IRA fund be utilized for the formation of Barangay Councils for the Protection of Children (BCPC) nationwide.
Among the specific functions of the BCPCs are the following:
-Foster education of every child in the barangay;
-Encourage the proper performance of the duties of parents and provide learning opportunities on the adequate rearing of children and positive parent-child relationship;
-Report all cases of child abuse to the proper authorities;
-Protect and assist abandoned, maltreated, and abused children and facilitate their cases filed against child abusers;
-Prevent child labor in their area and protect working children from abuse and exploitation;
-Take steps to prevent juvenile delinquency and to assist children with behavioral problems so that they can get expert advice;
- Adopt measures to promote the health and nutrition of children;
-Promote the opening and maintenance of playgrounds and day care centers and other services that are necessary for child and youth welfare;
-Secure the cooperation of organizations devoted to the welfare of children and coordinate their activities;
-Promote wholesome entertainment in the community especially in movie houses;
-Assist parents whenever necessary in securing expert guidance counselling from the proper governmental or private welfare agencies;
-Advocate for the passage of child-friendly barangay ordinances in response to child-related issues and concerns;
-Prepare the barangay plans of action for children which address the needs of children in the community and ensure their integration into the Barangay Development Plan and implementation by the barangay.
Non-functioning councils for child protection
But five years since since RA 9344 was enacted, DILG data showed that as of December 2010, only 13 percent or 5,208 of the 39,535 barangays that submitted information to the department had functioning BCPs; at least 3,876 barangays had no report on BCPC functionality.
The non-functioning councils include 157 of the 163 barangays of District I-Tondo. Data from the Manila Department of Social Welfare show that only six barangays in the district – Barangays 29, 61, 101, 105, 123 and 128, – have fully functional BCPCs.
But the DILG doubts that the 5,208 barangays that it listed having ideal BCPCs are indeed fully functional. According to Nesia Seneca of the DILG’s Institutional Linkages and Networking Division, the agency is set to conduct field investigation to verify if the supposedly ideal BCPCs are indeed working effectively.
Seneca says the investigation was prompted by reports from some non-government organizations working for the welfare of children that some BCPCs were not as ideal as the barangays claim.
Shortcuts in handling CICL cases
Another problem in the implementation of RA 9344 is the “big gap” in the intervention process of handling CICLs, according to Dagulo.
In the DSWD flow chart of handling CICL cases, a child aged 15 or below who commits a crime should be placed under the custody of a law enforcement officer who then looks for the child’s parent or guardian.
The officer has to assess whether the child would be in danger if he or she returns to his or her parents. If safety is assured, the officer releases the child to the parents or guardian. But if the officer determines that the child had suffered from neglect, abandonment, or abuse, the child should undergo an intervention program.
Under RA 9344, such program refers to a series of individualized treatment activities or programs designed to address issues that caused the child to commit an offense. These may include counseling, skills training, education, and other activities meant to improve and enhance the child’s psychological, emotional and psycho-social well-being.
If the officer determines that the child will be in danger if he or she stays with the parents or guardian, the officer should encourage temporary custody where a child is committed to a youth home, a government rehabilitation facility, or a non-government organization that caters to the needs of children.
In cases where the parents or guardian are unavailable, it will be the responsibility of the local social welfare and development officer to refer the child in conflict with the law to at least five entities – a duly registered NGO, a faith-based organization, a barangay officer, a member of the BCPC, and an officer from the DSWD - for them to carry out programs and interventions to rehabilitate the child before he or she is reintegrated to the family and community.
But there are many instances when the process is cut short, according to Dagulo. “There are many cases when intervention programs are not carried out and the child is just returned to the parent or guardian,” she says.
Dagula attributes this intervention gap to these factors: the lack of information among law enforcers and local officials, LGUs that have different priorities, role overload being experienced especially by social workers, and/or the lack of consciousness and understanding on the importance of promoting and defending the interest of disadvantaged children.
Address the roots of the problem
The DSWD admits that while the five-year-old law offers a lasting solution to the plight of CICLs, the government needs to “intensify” its “popularization,” especially its basic provisions “for a better appreciation of the principles of restorative justice.”
For party-list Akap Bata, the solution to the plight of CICLs does not lie in lowering the age of criminal responsibility but in addressing the root cause of the problem: poverty that pushes children to commit criminal acts.
“These young people are victims of neglect, poverty, hunger, malnutrition and so many other forms of social injustice. They are the very ones who have the right to demand changes in how the country is run because they are the biggest victims along with their parents. They come from the most exploited sectors of society,” says Lean Peace Flores, Akap Bata spokesperson.
For DSWD’s Eva Villegas, who has been working for the rights of children for the last 17 years, the change shouldn’t just come from the children and from their parents.
“The community, the local government, and the national government as a whole should also be ready to change for the child to change and have a better future. Otherwise, it will just be another vicious circle,” Villegas concludes.
Children in jail in the Philippines
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Children in jail in the Philippines is a significant problem. According to Amnesty International, over 50,000 children in the Philippines have been arrested and detained since 1995. Torture, rape and other forms of cruel and inhumane treatment are a part of everyday life for those children while they're incarcerated.[1] Most are charged with minor crimes, such as petty theft, sniffing solvents and vagrancy.[2]
Contents [hide]
1 History and statistics
2 Legislation
3 The child victims
4 Corruption
5 Indiscriminate 'rescue' operations
6 Charities
7 Conditions in Angeles Jail
8 Documentaries
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
History and statistics[edit]
By 2001, jailed children in the Philippines was attracting international media attention. The Australian government-owned television network, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, ran a documentary on the issue in which it stated that children as young as eight are being held in adult prisons in The Philippines in contravention of international statutes and the country’s own laws.[3]
In September 2005, it was estimated that over 4,000 children were in jails and detention centers all over the country — many of them mixed with adults.[2]
Another estimate states there are an estimated 20,000 children in prison in the Philippines throughout a single year.[4]
By May 6, 2005, it was estimated there were 2,100 children in jails across the Philippines, 20 of them on death row.[5]
Getting information on children in jail is difficult. "No one knows what goes on inside of prisons because no one is allowed in," Father Cullen said during an interview with the Western Catholic Reporter, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Edmonton.[6]
Legislation[edit]
UNICEF is a member of the Juvenile Justice Network-Philippines (JJNP), a broad coalition of government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) responsible for groundwork on the landmark child protection law.[2] Since the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Law (Republic Act 9344) was enacted in 2006, there has been improvements, and some children are referred to welfare homes bypassing the jail.[7]
Jailing of children in the Philippines is routine despite the fact that is forbidden by Philippine laws such as the Special Child Protection Act (RA 7610 Article VI[10][a]), the Presidential Decree 603 and RA 9344. The abusive practice, detrimental and dangerous to the child, is forbidden by the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (Article 10[2][b]) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 37[c]).[7]
The child victims[edit]
Amnesty International stated that Filipino children who come into conflict with the law are often from marginalized groups including street youth, drug users, and those with interrupted education, who have limited access to the family and societal structures meant to protect them. These children straddle the child and adult worlds and, in some ways, get the worst of each. Even before arrest, children who come into conflict with the law tend to represent the most disadvantaged and marginalized sectors of society. Many are fleeing difficult home situations, often exacerbated by abuse and poverty and resulting in an interrupted education.[8]
"These children in prison are frequently mixed with adult prisoners and sexually abused in the over packed cells. Here eighty to a hundred prisoners squat for 24 hours taking turns at lying down so congested are the small cells. The heat and stench is overpowering, the food is only a few cents a day and disease, malnutrition and tuberculosis are the daily hazard suffered by the children."[4]
Children in jail are at risk of sickness and death from contagious diseases such as TB, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis.[9]
Corruption[edit]
Children are often jailed for things such as playing cards on a sidewalk and held there until their family can pay off a bribe to corrupt police. [10]
Indiscriminate 'rescue' operations[edit]
In response to widespread criticism of the government's often violent and harmful clean-up exercises, government officials in Metro Manila committed to a new initiative of 'rescuing' abused, neglected and exploited street children, placing them in shelters where they were said to be provided with food, medical care, education and protection. However, a 2009 report jointly published by Bahay Tuluyan and UNICEF reported that most ‘rescued’ street children comment that not only were they taken involuntarily and with violence, the conditions in the shelters to which they are taken are extremely poor.[11]
Charities[edit]
A number of charities are active in helping children in jail in the Philippines.
Preda Foundation visits the jails on a regular basis and hands out food and medicines.[10]
Jubilee have been active in gathering evidence and gave testimony to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus on the subject of children in prison in the Philippines.[12]
Kids Go Free was formed to advocate for children in conflict with the law. Based on research in the Philippines the group is concerned with the situation of children in jail worldwide. The website[which?] aims to raise awareness of this global problem and includes a forum.
Conditions in Angeles Jail[edit]
Children in Angeles Jail are detained in a small (3 meters by 7 meters approx) unventilated concrete cell. There is no window in the cell, and the minors have no access to an electric fan (which many of the adult cells have and which is necessary in the constant oppressive heat). The children's cell is in a block containing over 100 convicted adult prisoners. The same cell is always used to house children regardless of the number in the jail. Reports from adult inmates indicate that the same cell was used for up to 15 children at a time. There is no bedding or basic sanitary items supplied by the jail. There is a separated concrete cubicle in the corner of the cell with a toilet. The children are not given any change of clothes and commonly wear rags. There have been reports of a hepatitis and TB epidemic in the jail. The children have a maximum one-hour a day of exercise. They have to request this each day. Children report being underfed and hungry. There is little effort made to rehabilitate the children who report visits from a social worker on average less than once a month.[8][13][14]
Conditions in the jail may amount to torture, inhuman, degrading treatment of the children. Children are often sexually abused by adult inmates or prison authorities and are sold as prostitutes. Children have been detained at Angeles District Jail, Angeles City, for months without charges, legal counsel or any regard for their legal rights. No arrest warrants were issued at the time of their arrest and no court order was given for their detention. None of these children has been provided with competent legal counsel, as required by Philippine law.[8][15][16]
