New law stresses reform of juvenile offenders

President Arroyo has signed into law Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which creates the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) under the Department of Justice. Signed on April 28, RA 9344, refers to “juvenile justice and welfare system" as a “system in dealing with children at risk and children in conflict with the law, outlining programs and services for the prevention, diversion, rehabilitation, reintegration and aftercare to ensure normal development of young offenders." Among children’s rights that RA 9344 upholds are the right not to be tortured or subjected to other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the right not to be imposed a sentence of capital punishment or life imprisonment without the possibility of release; the right not to be deprived, unlawfully or arbitrarily, of his/her liberty, among others. The law also provides that detention or imprisonment of young offenders should be a last resort, and which shall be for the shortest appropriate period. A child in conflict with the law also has the right to be treated in a manner fitting his/her needs as a child, and shall be in a detention center separate from adult offenders at all times. RA 9344 exempts from criminal liability of a child who is 15 years old or younger at the time of the commission of the crime, but shall be subjected to an intervention program. Children above 15 or below 18 shall also be exempt from criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention program unless they acted with discernment, in which case they will undergo proceedings. Under the law, persons below 18 cannot be criminally prosecuted for vagrancy, prostitution, mendicancy, and for sniffing rugby based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, provided they should undergo counseling and treatment. Upon enforcement of the act, cases of children 15 years and younger at the time of the commission of the crime will be immediately dismissed and they shall be referred to local social welfare and development officer for appropriate action. If the detained child has a pending trial, the family court shall determine whether detention is necessary and if not, it will determine appropriate alternative to detention. The JJWC, which was created under RA 9344, will be headed by an undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), who will ensure the enforcement of the Act in coordination with various agencies, including the Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Public Attorney’s Office. The JJWC, which will sign the implementing rules and regulations of the act, will have as members representatives from the DOJ, DSWD, CWC, DepEd, DILG, Commission on Human Rights, the National Youth Commission, and two representatives from NGOs, one to be designated by the justice secretary and another by the DSWD secretary. The JJWC, which will get an initial P50-million funding from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, will also advise the President on all matters and policies relating to juvenile justice and welfare. –GMANews.TV