Special Report: Children in Conflict with the Law

Jeffrey was still 10 years old when he ran away from home in one of the city's urban barangays after his mother brought a man to their house and allowed him to stay with them after her husband died three years ago.

With only a few pairs of old pants and shirts placed inside a plastic bag, Jeffrey carried his load in his right hand and walked from their house in barangay San Roque toward a destination that he did not yet know.

Jeffrey only had a few coins in his pocket when he left without the knowledge of his mother. He stopped and stayed for a while at the Plaza Independencia where he slept on concrete benches and eventually met with some other children, runaways like him.

Since then, Jeffrey has been roaming the city together with his new friends looking for empty bottles, cans, plastics, scrap metal and recyclable garbage that they can sell to different junk shops.

Jeffrey was slowly influenced by the bad habits of some of his friends who encouraged him to join in gambling, such as "todas-todas" and to use rugby even if their income was not enough to feed themselves.

One time, Jeffrey was apprehended by the tanods of Lorega-San Miguel for stealing scrap materials from the houses in the barangay and he was referred to this writer, who used to be the chairman of the barangay's Children's Justice Committee.

The committee was created to assist children in conflict with the law, or those between nine and 18 years old who committed an offense or a crime with a case filed in court with the prosecutor or the police.

These children are considered victims of circumstances beyond their control and should, therefore, be treated as individuals with problems who need help and not as criminals.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development is the agency mandated to promote the rights and welfare of children in conflict with the law.

These are carried out in community-based or center-based settings in coordination with the five pillars of the juvenile justice system, namely: the law enforcement, prosecution, judiciary/court, correctional, and the community.

A child who committed a minor offense should be provided with appropriate interventions while in custody of his family or any responsible member of the community.

This is undertaken upon the recommendation of a social worker who also arranges that a child be released from detention and committed to his parents or a member of the community while awaiting arraignment or trial. The intervention keeps the child away from the influence of adult criminals in jail, minimizes the stigma attached to detention and facilitates speedy trial.

While on trial, a minor offender may also avail of custody supervision where he is given opportunity to serve his suspended sentence and undergo rehabilitation with his family, subject to the visitation of a social worker.

Being with the family is beneficial to the minor offender in order to promote his/her sense of dignity and worth. This also reinforces the child's respect for human rights and fundamental freedom of others. Keeping the child with the family takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration in society.

To prevent a minor from entering the juvenile justice system, the social worker mediates on behalf of the minor and arranges for an amicable settlement maximizing the barangay justice system, so he may be released to his/her parents or responsible member of the community under the supervision of the DSWD.

Youth offenders who cannot benefit from community-based services can avail of the services of various rehabilitation centers maintained by the DSWD. The centers aim to improve the social functioning of the minor offenders so they would be successfully reintegrated to their families and communities later on.

The Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth - such as in Candabong, Argao - provides 24-hour custodial care, treatment and rehabilitation services by a team of social workers, psychologists, houseparents, and vocational instructors, among others.

Minor offenders found guilty of criminal offense like rape, murder, robbery and the like are rehabilitated or helped to overcome their deviant behavior and become law abiding and productive individuals.

The local government units -such as Cebu City government- has created a center now called "Operation Second Chance" where children are segregated from adult detainees. At present, the OSC has 114 young detainees. - with DSWD report