#JailNoChild

A CALL FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF THE

JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM OF
THE PHILIPPINES
JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE COUNCIL
Republic Act 9344 as amended:
Landmark Child Protection Law
• Established a comprehensive and child-sensitive
juvenile justice system
• Under this law, children can be held accountable
using child sensitive procedures that avoid their
incarceration and emphasized on prevention and
rehabilitation so that there is lesser risk of re-
offending
• Enactment of R.A. 10630 in 2013 strengthening the
Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006
• Retention of the minimum age of criminal
responsibility (MACR) at above 15 years old as
provided by R.A. 10630
• R.A. 9344 nominated in the World Future Policy
Awards for 2015
FACT CHECK: Most Reported Offenses Allegedly
Involving Children in Conflict with the Law (2012-2015)

Percent Distribution of Crimes Committed by CICL

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%
Theft Physical Injuries Robbery Rape RA 9165 (Prohibited Drugs) Other Crimes
FACT CHECK : Crime Committed by Adults and Children
(2002 to 2015)
Percent distribution of Serious and non serious crimes under
sec 20-a ra 9344 as amended

8.15%

Non-serious Crimes

Serious Crimes

91.85%
CICL and CAR by Age Group
7.12%

2.00%

Below years old 9 to 11 years old

47.50%

12 to 15 years old Above 15 but below 18 years old 43.39%

CICL Cases in the Bicol (2014-2016)
PROVINCE YEAR
2014 2015 2016
Albay 98 405 728
Camarines Norte 54 31 161
Camarines Sur 293 432 440
Catanduanes 101 102 149
Masbate 30 42 42
Sorsogon 76 31 8
Total 652 1,043 1,528
Crime Volume 47,513 42,020 38,042
TCV vs CICL 1.37% 2.48% 4.02%
 Total Crime Volume vs CICL
50000
47513

45000
42020

40000
38042

35000

30000

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

1043 1528
652
0
2014 2015 2016

TOTAL CRIME VOLUME

CRIMES COMMITTED 2014
Theft 270
Physical Injury 131
Rape 50
Robbery 22
Trespass to Dwelling 19
2015
Theft 424
Physical Injury 181
Rape 55
Alarm & Scandal 49
Shoplifting 31
2016
Theft 456
Drugs 369
Physical Injury 233
Rape 71
Alarm & Scandal 40
LGU Responsibilities Under R.A. 9344

• Appointment of a licensed social worker whose task is to assist children in conflict

with the law;
• Allocating at least 1% IRA for strengthening of the local councils for the protection
of children;
• Adopting and implementing Comprehensive Juvenile Intervention Programs;
• Implementing diversion mechanisms and programs and other child appropriate
process to determine responsibility of CICL without resorting to formal court
processes
• Establishing and operating Bahay Pag-asa facilities for CICL in highly-urbanized
cities and provinces.
Status of Implementation at the LGU Level

Hiring of Licensed Social Workers Hired in LGUs

Social Workers 100%

90%
Only 3% (or 1,342
80%
SW) of LGUs have 70%
appointed licensed 60%
social workers. 50%
However, they also 40%
handle all the other 30%
cases in the LGU 20%

that require a 10%

social worker. 0%
I
R R II II I -A -B V VI VI
I
VI
II IX X XI XI
I
GA M
NC CA IV IV RA RM
A
CA
Percent of LGUs with SW Percent of LGUs without SW
Status of Implementation at the LGU Level
Percent distribution of lgus with and w/out IRA allocation

Allocation of at
least 1% of IRA
With 1% IRA Only 14,425 LGUs have
Allocation 24.80%
allocated at least 1% of
their IRA for the
Without 1% strengthening of the
IRA Local Councils for the
Allocation
Protection of Children.
75.20%
Status of Implementation at the LGU Level
Percent distribution of lgus (Provinces and hucs) with Bahay pag-asa
Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA)
Facilities
As of March 2017, a total
number of 40 BPA
25.00%
facilities have been
LGUs with BPA
constructed to provide
temporary residential
LGUs without care for children in
BPA
conflict with the law
75.00%
with pending cases
before the court.
The newly-furnished Bahay Pag-asa in Baler, Quezon
Status of Implementation at the LGU Level
Percent distribution of lgus provided with technical assistance on the development of cljip
Comprehensive Local Juvenile
Intervention Program
JJWC has provided
LGUs provided
technical assistance to with technical
more than 13,939 out of assistance on
43,743 LGUs or 32%,
CLJIP 31.87%
from barangay to the
LGUs not
provincial level from provided with 68.13%
2015-2016. technical
assistance on
CLJIP
For Bicol Region:
•On CLJIP Orientation:
•Of the total 3591 LGUs, 1463 LGUs oriented
and assisted din the development of their
CLJIP
•62 LGUS have crafted their CLJIP with
resolution
Status of Implementation at the LGU Level

To oversee the coordinated, integrated and full

implementation of the law at the national, regional and
local levels, the following structures were
institutionalized:
• Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC), a
policy-making, coordinating, and monitoring body
tasked with the implementation of Juvenile Justice
and Welfare Act (R.A. 9344)
• 17 Regional Juvenile Justice and Welfare
Committees (RJJWC)
• National and Regional Secretariat
Status of Implementation at the National Level

Policy Formulation and

Program Development
- Development of policies
which serve as guide and
protocol for duty-
bearers in properly
implementing the law
Status of Implementation at the National Level

Advocacy and Social Mobilization

- Development and dissemination of IEC and advocacy
materials
- Development of training modules
- Annual nationwide observance of Juvenile Justice and
Welfare Consciousness Week as an awareness-raising
platform
- Legislative advocacy and social mobilization work
Status of Implementation at the National Level

Information Management, Capacity-Building

• Development of the JJWC National Juvenile Justice and Welfare

Management Information System (CICL and CAR Registry - Pilot testing
phase)
• Capacity building activities for social workers, law enforcement officers,
lawyers, prosecutors, local duty-bearers
Status of Implementation at the National Level

Monitoring

• In 2016, all 35 operational Bahay Pag-Asa were

visited, monitored and provide with technical
assistance
• 319 detention/jail facilities were inspected
• As a result, 397 children were found to be detained in
BJMP facilities, regular jails and detention facilities;
109 of these children were released and transferred to
their parents or appropriate facilities.
Implementation of RA 9344 as amended:
Davao City Experience

CICL Situationer: 50% increase in their CICL from 525 in 2010 to 1067 in 2011; CICL were neglected and are
from poor families

Goal: The Children in Davao City are free from abuse and neglect with full access to services and living in a
peaceful and caring society.

Total investment on intervention programs for children: 24.26% of IRA

Intervention Programs:
 ECCD, Institutionalization of activities on Children and Youth, Values Formation
 Family Therapy to the Family of the Children at Risk, Organization of Watch Groups, Enhanced Parent
Effectiveness Service (PES) Seminars
 Diversion Program of CICL as indicated in RA 9344, Participation in Education, Vocation and Life Skills
Program, establishment of residential care and rehabilitation facilities (Bahay Pag-Asa)
 Hiring of licensed social workers for the city and per barangay (91 RSW hired)
 Operational Quick Response Team for Children’s Concerns (QRTCC)
Implementation of RA 9344 as amended:
Davao City Experience

Two years of implementation and…

Number of reported crimes involving

CICL in Davao City LGU
2012 2013 to 2016 2015 1st sem
2016

3,662 3-year CLJIP 724 180

Implementation Davao City: Recognized during the 10th
Anniversary of the Enactment of R.A. 9344 for the
Good Practice of the LGU in implementing the
JJWA
GAPS in the Implementation

• Low LGU compliance

• Insufficient personnel of the JJWC to monitor the
implementation of the law
• Lack of awareness and capacity of the pillars of
the justice system
• Lack of awareness of the general public on the
juvenile justice and welfare system
CRJIP Bicol
• GOAL: Decreased incidence of CARs & CICLs
• Output 1.1 - Children are aware of their rights through conduct of forum,
congress, & IEC materials distribution
• Indicator: Number of children attended the forum, congress and provided with IEC
materials
• Baseline: 13 Schools Divisions (DepEd, 2017)
Recommendations

• Additional funding support (e.g., subsidies) to the LGUs for the operation of the
Bahay Pag-asa facilities

• Mandatory establishment and operation of camps/training centers by BuCor and

DSWD where former CICL may serve sentence and continue their rehabilitation in lieu
of confinement in a regular penal facility

• Investment and Implementation of Comprehensive Community-Based Intervention

Programs: Strict monitoring and audit of incorporation of the LGU’s Comprehensive
Local Juvenile Intervention Program in the Local Development and Investment Plan of
the LGU
Proposed Bill on Lowering the
Minimum Age of Criminal
Responsibility (MACR)
 JJWC KEY MESSAGES on Lowering MACR

 It will not reduce the crime rate

 It will not protect or help children. It is harmful and undermines the best
interest of the child
 It is anti-poor
 It is costly for the government
 It is unconstitutional
 It is not the solution

 JJWC calls for the full implementation of R.A. 9344 as amended by R.A. 10630
PSYCHODYNAMICS OF A CHILD
IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW
 Feeling of aggression and hostility
 Feeling of being a bad person and being known as a
bad person
 Cannot control his impulses
 Shamed, repentant, remorseful for having committed
a crime
PSYCHODYNAMICS OF A CHILD
IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW
 Confused, fearful and afraid of being caught and of
being brutalized or tortured
 Running away, turning to drugs, roaming freely in the
streets
 Numbering his feelings; pretending he is not
overwhelmed by problems
PSYCHODYNAMICS OF A CHILD
IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW
 Express feeling of sadness, loneliness,
longing for love and intimacy
 Has a concept of injustice
 Feeling of guilt when committed a crime
 Perceives family as predominantly chaotic,
neglectful and causing them to be bad
• Children in conflict with the law cannot forget. . . .

• . . . . being harassed, brutalized, and maltreated by

• the police. They always remember the
• injustice done to them. Confused and afraid,
• they learn to commit crimes, “remain bad,”
• and stay with their gangs.
 Behind his impenetrable façade. . .
• . . . .lies his feelings of insecurity,
apprehension, and desire to escape his
present state. The contradiction between his
outer and inner self makes him sensitive,
angry, pretentious, fearful and rejected.
• How they view others. . .

 Mothers can be loving but “problematic”

 Fathers are the cause of family problems, are
violent and abusive
 Friends are helpful, kind, and “cool”.
• Real Change Should Not
• Hurt Our Children
THANK YOU!