National Council of Social Development holds 65^th Mid-Year Assembly

Marian Opeña

 

The National Council of Social Development (NCSD) held its 65th Mid-Year Assembly at Atrium Hotel, Pasay City, last July 25, 2014. Over 51 NGOs with a total of 89 attendees gathered to discuss about addressing the needs of children and their families.

The 65th assembly’s theme was “Reflection on the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act, in the light of NCSD’s Protection Rights: A Call for Renewed Action”. Among the guest speakers were Atty. Alberto Muyot, Undersecretary for Legal Affairs, Department of Education (DepEd); Ms. Ma. Victoria S. Diaz, President, Philippine Action for Youth Offenders (PAYO); and Ms. Gina Lompero, Prevention Program Director, Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Sexual Abuse, who shared pertinent information on their respective fields of their expertise.

 Atty. Alberto T. Muyot of DepEd shared that a a new feature of R.A. 9344, as amended by R.A. 10630, or the Act Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines, is the establishment of the ‘Bahay Pag-Asa’, he Intensive Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (IJISC), for children above 12 to 15 years, who have committed serious crimes such as parricide, murder, rape, destructive arson, and others, but are exempt from criminal responsibility.

Atty. Muyot presented these data:

Children in conflict with the law Nationwide CY 2013 (No. as of January 24, 2014)	CICL served in community based	CICL served in Center based
Female	38	74
Male	836	1515
	874	1589

Source: DSWD

Child Exempt from Criminal Responsibility

       a.Child fifteen (15) years of age or under at the time of the commission of crime.

A child is deemed to be fifteen (15) years of age on the day of the fifteenth anniversary of his/her birthdate.

b.A child above fifteen (15) years but below eighteen (18) years of age.

Such child shall be subjected to an intervention program. But, if he/she acted with discernment, he/she shall be subjected to appropriate proceedings.

Note: Exemption from criminal liability does not exempt one from civil liability.

Exemption from criminal liability of 15-year olds will be suspended if they have acted with discernment. The Social Worker determines the discernment, which can be challenged by the prosecutor.  While it is the court which will finally decide on discernment, it will always respect the assessment of the Sscial worker and will carry the burden of proof for the child’s discernment. 

The following diagram illustrates the process for taking into custody a child below the age of criminal responsibility:

 

Establishment of Pag-asa

Each province and highly-urbanized city (the local government units) shall be responsible for building, funding and operating a ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ within their jurisdiction following the standards that will be set by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and adopted by the Juvenile Justice Welfare Council (JJWC).

Bahay Pag-asa

It is a 24-hour child-caring institution established, funded and managed by local government units (LGUs) and licensed and/or accredited non-government organizations (NGOs) providing short-term residential care for children in conflict with the law who are above fifteen (15) but below eighteen (18) years of age who are awaiting court disposition of their cases or transfer to other agencies or jurisdiction.

Every ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ will have a facility called the Intensive Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (IJISC). This Center will be allocated for children in conflict with the law (CICL) found to have committed serious crimes, repeat offenses, and have been found to be abandoned, neglected, or abused by parents or guardian.

The victim of the offense committed by a child and the victim’s family shall be provided with appropriate assistance and psychological intervention by the Local Social Welfare Development Office (LSWDO), DSWD and other concerned agencies.

Intervention and assistance to victim of the offense committed and family of the child in conflict with the law (CICL) and the victim

The parents of the child in conflict with the law may be required by the court to undergo counselling or other intervention, based on the recommendation of the multi-disciplinary team of the IJISC, the LSWDO, or the DSWD and other concerned agencies.

       1.P.D. 603 provides that the court should seek voluntary commitment in a residential care, and a consent form signed by the child’s parents (?) should be notarized.

If there is Absolute Consent – the child can be transferred to ‘Bahay Pag-asa’. Every ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ will have a facility called the Intensive Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (IJISC).Parents are required to participate in the intervention.

       1.Each ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ is run by a multidisciplinary group.

       2.Greater participation of LGUs is encouraged.

Institutionalization and Strengthening of National and Regional Structures

       1.Transfer of the administrative supervision over the Juvenile Justice Welfare Council (JJWC) Secretariat from Department of Justice (DOJ) to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

       2.Creation of Regional Juvenile Justice Welfare Council (RJJWC)

       3.Strengthening of the National JJWC Secretariat and creation of RJJWC Secretariat

       4.Strengthened collaboration with the local governments through the additional four members from the leagues of provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays

Composition of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC)

The JJWC shall be composed of representatives from the following agencies, whose ranks shall not be lower than Director:

       1.Department of Justice (DOJ)

       2.Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

       3.Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC)

       4.Department of Education (DepEd)

       5.Department of the Interior Local Government (DILG)

       6.Commission on Human Rights (CHR)

       7.National Youth Commission (NYC)

       8.Two (2) representatives from NGOs, designated by the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, selected based on the criteria established by the Council

       9.Department of Health (DOH)

     10.One (1) representative each from the Leagues of Provinces, Cities, Municipalities, and Barangays

Establishment and Institutionalization of a Referral and Centralized Juvenile Justice Welfare Management Information System

       1.The institutionalization of a centralized registry of CICL will ensure that the interventions provided can be evaluated as to their effectiveness and maybe collectively used for program and policy planning and development.

       2.The JJWC shall lead in the establishment of a centralized information management system of children in conflict with the law.

Inclusion in the LGUs Annual Budget an allocation for the Local Juvenile Justice Program

       1.The LGUs’ expected expenditures on the local juvenile intervention program for children at risk and children in conflict with the law shall be included in the LGUs’ annual budget.

       2.Highly-urbanized cities and provincial governments should include a separate budget for the construction and maintenance of the ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ including the operation of the IJISC within the ‘Bahay Pag-asa’.

       3.Allocation of Php400 million that will be coursed through the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to fund the construction of ‘Bahay Pag-Asa’ in identified priority LGUs to be determined by DSWD and JJWC.

 

Marian Opeña is the Officer-in-Charge of NCSD, one of the 12 member networks of CODE-NGO.