Children in crime: Cracks in the country's juvenile justice system

By: Annie Ruth C. Sabangan, InterAksyon.com

Oct.9, 2011..www.interaksyon.com/article/14780/children-in-crime-cracks-in-the-countrys-juvenile-justice-system

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.

Despite high economic growth, PH poverty on the rise

Bea Orante

September 25, 2015...www.rappler.com/move-ph/106966-economic-growth-ph-poverty

As a postscript to his talk, Habito cited statistics that one in every 5 Filipino families lives in poverty. Solving this involves addressing the greatest needs of the poor as well as “[nurturing] them sustainably out of poverty.”

The DTI is attempting to solve this by implementing structural changes in industries to promote job creation. For the DSWD, the focus is on providing equal opportunities, especially for the marginalized poor.

“It’s really equality of opportunities, the equalization of opportunities, because poverty is pretty complex and multi-dimensional,” said Medel.

For the private sector, poverty reduction involves “sharing and caring,” according to Habito. He believes that the Philippines “only [needs] one out of every 4 non-poor Filipino families to ‘adopt’ one poor family and help nurture them sustainably out of poverty.”

Habito shared a story of a woman whose neighbor’s children were crying for food, but there was none for them to eat. The woman then brought food to her neighbor’s house and shared half of it with them. “If somebody so poor already can still share, what about the rest of us who are so much more comfortable?” said Habito.

80% of heinous crimes drug-related - DDB chief

By Eva Visperas | Updated May 22, 2011

www.philstar.com/nation/688117/80-heinous-crimes-drug-related-ddb-chief

DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines – The Dangerous Drugs Board chief said 80 percent of heinous crimes committed are drug-related and his agency, being the policy-making body of anti-drugs system in the government, is encouraging more participation on anti-drug abuse prevention activities.

Secretary Antonio Villar Jr. who came here for the launching of Barkada Kontra sa Droga (BKD) exhorted the youths, their parents and teachers for more active participation to fight the drug menace.

But he said the drug situation in Pangasinan “is not really alarming” based on reports reaching him.

However, he said there are also reports pointing to some Muslim centers here and in Urdaneta City that are becoming distribution centers of illegal drugs. “But we are not accusing them of being drug pushers that’s why we have to coordinate with the Muslim leaders and if possible try to conduct raids,” he said.

“But we are not accusing them, we can justify that these Muslim brothers are not part of the illegal trade (if the raids would turn negative). He said because of nagging reports implicating them, Villar said there is a need to conduct raids as being planned by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, being the lead agency and the implementing arm against illegal drugs, to find out the truth and clear them once and for all.

Villar also said he has been suggesting to equip anti-narcotics agents with modern equipment like patrol boats and helicopters to guard the long coastline of the country which is used to transport illegal drugs, like what happened in Samar where two tons of cocaine were seized there as drug syndicates are moneyed and well-equipped.

DDB: 1.7 million Pinoys hooked on drugs

By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 14, 2012

www.philstar.com/headlines/2012/11/14/866389/ddb-17-million-pinoys-hooked-drugs

MANILA, Philippines - An estimated 1.7 million Filipinos are hooked on drugs, with 1,700 of them dying each year due to their addiction, a Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) official said yesterday.

DDB executive director Benjamin Reyes told the House committee on dangerous drugs that the 1.7 million represents an increase of 200,000 from the number of drug users two years ago.

Based on his agency’s estimate, he said the number of deaths directly related to drug use is “very low.”

“Even the World Health Organization ranks the Philippines 153rd in terms of drug use-related mortalities,” he said.

Committee members led by chairman Vicente Belmonte Jr. of Iligan City expressed disbelief over Reyes’ “low” numbers.

“I think those are not reliable,” Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez, a former Palace national security adviser, said.

aid he could not believe that only 1,700 deaths a year could be attributed to or induced by drug use.

“We always claim that 70-75 percent of crimes and deaths resulting from these crimes are drug-related,” he said.

Golez’s colleagues agreed with him.

Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla said drug use today is not confined only in Metro Manila and urban centers but has spread even in the rural areas as well.

Belmonte said there are already tens of thousands of drug users in the provinces.

Binay: Moral problem is poverty, not corruption

By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) | Updated October 28, 2015

www.philstar.com/headlines/2015/10/28/1515683/binay-moral-problem-poverty-not-corruption

MANILA, Philippines - Vice President Jejomar Binay said yesterday the moral problem his administration will fight is poverty, not corruption should he be elected president in May 2016.

Binay, who is facing various corruption allegations, made the statement during the presidential forum organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City.

“The moral problem is not corruption, the moral problem is poverty. That is what I want to face, not the fight against all these allegations, but the fight to alleviate the life of every Filipino,” Binay told the forum moderator.

Binay is facing five plunder and graft complaints before the Ombudsman in connection with alleged corruption in various infrastructure projects in Makati during his stint as mayor.

The Vice President was asked how he would convince businessmen to invest in the country amid corruption allegations leveled against him.

Family of murder victim of drug addicts in Bohol also cries for justice

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Ron E.J. Carleon

kickerdaily.com/family-of-murder-victim-of-drug-addicts-in-bohol-also-cries-for-justice/

MANILA, Philippines – Amid the series of killings, rapes and other heinous crimes sweeping the country in recent weeks, the family of an alleged murder victim by drug addicts in Bohol also came forward and took to social media their desperate cry for justice.

e story was posted by one Maria Rodenel Dela Cuz II on her Facebook page on August 22 and has become viral online with almost 40K shares and over 15K likes.

According to the post, her brother, Ronnel Dela Cruz, 27, was murdered in March by a group of drug addicts in Bohol.

The victim was supposedly only on vacation, hoping to experience what it’s like to live in a province.

One night, while on board a motorcycle, a group of persons known to be drug users in the local community accosted him which eventually led to his brutal killing.

The sister claims the police never conducted an investigation into the crime, and in fact, made his brother’s death even appear to have been caused by an accident. She further said autopsy report revealed her brother actually died from severe beating and mauling.

The perpetrators, according to her story, remains free and were even boasting about their kill, and how they accomplished the murder. One of the suspects is allegedly a member of the local police.

Ronel died on March 29, 2014 at Barangay Katarungan in Bohol and his family had been crying for justice since.

The sister also asked that her brother’s gruesome tale be shared until it reaches the government and whoever may be able to help in the investigation and in seeking justice for the poor victim.

Kiko on Juvenile Justice Law: Youth offenders accountable

By: InterAksyon.com

www.interaksyon.com/article/12965/kiko-on-juvenile-justice-law-youth-offenders-accountable

MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, principal author of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, on Tuesday said the law ensures the accountability of youth offenders, and does not allow them to go scot-free.

“Youth offenders cannot get away scot-free. Under the law, even minors may be held liable, and if they are above 15-years-old, and they may be prosecuted and held liable criminally as an adult,” he said in a statement.

Reacting to Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s move to suspend the law, Pangilinan pointed out that the main problem with Republic Act 9344 is that “even its key stakeholders do not understand the law, and therefore are not able to implement it properly.”

“Nowhere in the law does it state that children in conflict with the law are ‘exempt’ of any kind of justice. The law says that youth offenders should not be judged or incarcerated as adults,” Pangilinan said.

The law provides for a separate justice system for children and youth, “with the belief that our youth should not be condemned to lives of criminality by throwing them into the same jail as hardened criminals,” he said.

Pangilinan said the law works in the framework of reformative justice, putting in place a system and a program for rehabilitating youth in conflict with the law.

“While minors, as a general rule, will not be held to account for their acts under our criminal justice system, these children in conflict with the law are to be held to account for their acts under the Juvenile Justice system,” he explained.

“It is against the law to release a child without going through the proper diversion program—moreso if the offender is a repeat offender. Also, involuntary confinement is a remedy available, especially for minors involved in serious offenses (assuming that, the first time around, the intruder was still a minor), and releasing a child involved in a serious offense is a violation of the Juvenile Justice Law.”

No funding until now

One of the major obstacles to properly implementing the law has been funding, Pangilinan said, adding that such funds were released only this year when the law has been valid since 2006.

This delay in fund allocation and release has resulted in the absence of training for law enforcers in connection with the law.

“Before we consider repealing or suspending the law, let’s give it a chance—now that the Aquino administration has released funding for its implementation. And, before anything else, let’s make sure that all stakeholders read and understand the law so we can help in its effective implementation.”