When you can't afford music lessons...

Music seems to reside in the heart of every kid here at Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center, but with budget limitations and the rising costs of the basic needs of the residents, education for the arts can easily find itself cut out.  Of course, we would prefer to have regular music lessons for the boys, but if that isn't possible, what's the next best thing?  Well, this electronic keyboard (just donated by Club Pag-asa at Cathedral High School, Los Angeles) is one way to keep music education going here.  In addition to its many functions, this keyboard has lighted keys which can teach kids how to play certain songs.  This young resident has a good ear for music and can sound out melodies.  Using this new keyboard, he is able to learn how to add chords and produce a full sound that we can use in the chapel for Mass and prayer services.  Next, he will teach the others.

Another young man has discovered that with downloaded Youtube videos and the tutorials in Garage Band, he can improve his guitar-playing.  (This computer belongs to Br. Dan, but this resident gets to make use of it each day.  He is currently working on both English and Tagalog versions of the song "Dance With My Father."  Thanks to these technologies, we can continue to offer music lessons (albeit it limited in scope) even when we can't afford the teachers we would like to have.

The Classroom as Sacred Ground

Over the course of this last busy week, I have been waking up every morning to find my chalkboard covered in facts about stars, planets, and the universe.  I'm not really used to this.  Usually, if I want science notes on the board I have to put them there myself.  It turns out that this is all the work of one boy here - our newest resident.  He is a former street kid and seems to have had little formal schooling.  But what he does have is a big interest in learning.  Two nights ago, the clouds gave way for a while and we set up the telescope.  Mars and Saturn were out, but a thundercloud blocked our view too quickly.  So we looked at some big bright stars - Vega, Antares and Arcturus.  This boy was there - eager to get his first real look through a telescope.  Yesterday, he approached me and said, "I read in a book that Jupiter rotates once every 10 hours.  Is that true?"  I realized that I wasn't sure...it seemed too fast.  But, he was right and he added this to his board facts early the next morning, before I was even awake.

As a teacher I'm used to forcing the issue.  Too often I give up on inspiring and resort to some sort of thinly-veiled threat of failure.  But when a boy who spent a very long time sleeping on sidewalks in the marketplace greets me every morning with his desire to learn all he can, I have to recognize that I may have stumbled upon sacred ground.  A burning bush would be less surprising than this manifestation of hope and wonder from a kid who should be concerned only with food and shelter.  Despite my best efforts, it's hard to be cynical here.

I wish you could see it...

A young boy walks away from his home early one morning, because life has become unbearable for him. He walks until midnight, finding himself in another city. There he lives on the street, sleeping in the market, avoiding hostile groups of teens and malicious adults. He becomes painfully thin, finding just enough to eat every few days to keep himself alive. He suffers from respiratory ailments and skin diseases. Eventually, because of petty theft or violation of curfew laws, he finds himself in a police lockup. A social worker finds him and looks for a place when he can find a temporary home. That is often when we, at Bahay Pag-asa, first meet a "child in conflict with the law." Many are quite surprised when they first come to Bahay Pag-asa because there are no "cells" like they experienced at the police lock-up or jail. They find that they now have three meals a day, classes, recreation, livelihood training and even the medical care that they may never have received previously. But most importantly, they find a family and a sense of belonging. I wish that you could see it...it's the good news of the Gospel in its most unmistakable form.

Police Formation and Children in Conflict with the Law

A juvenile arrested for an alleged offense against the law will usually spend hours to days at a police station before being returned to the family, or placed in residential care pending court action.  Some juveniles end up spending extended periods of time in police lockups, though the law directs otherwise.  The time spent in custody of the police can be humane or brutal depending on the officers, their understanding of the situations of CICLs (children in conflict with the law), and the protections guaranteed to CICLs by the law.  Among the residents of the two Lasallian Bahay Pag-asa Youth Centers are any number of boys who experienced abuse and even what amounts to torture at police stations as they were interrogated about the alleged offenses.  Other residents report humane treatment at police stations where officers have been schooled in the requirements of the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (RA 9344), so it is clear that police formation must be an integral part of the Bahay Pag-asa programs.

RA 9344 is quite explicit regarding the manner in which a juvenile offender must be treated while in the custody of the police:

TITLE V
JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM

CHAPTER I
INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE CHILD

Sec. 21. Procedure for Taking the Child into Custody. - From the moment a child is taken into custody, the law enforcement officer shall:

(a) Explain to the child in simple language and in a dialect that he/she can understand why he/she is being placed under custody and the offense that he/she allegedly committed;

(b) Inform the child of the reason for such custody and advise the child of his/her constitutional rights in a language or dialect understood by him/her;

(e) Properly identify himself/herself and present proper identification to the child;

(d) Refrain from using vulgar or profane words and from sexually harassing or abusing, or making sexual advances on the child in conflict with the law;

(e) Avoid displaying or using any firearm, weapon, handcuffs or other instruments of force or restraint, unless absolutely necessary and only after all other methods of control have been exhausted and have failed;

(f) Refrain from subjecting the child in conflict with the law to greater restraint than is necessary for his/her apprehension;

(g) Avoid violence or unnecessary force;

(h) Determine the age of the child pursuant to Section 7 of this Act;

(i) Immediately but not later than eight (8) hours after apprehension, turn over custody of the child to the Social Welfare and Development Office or other accredited NGOs, and notify the child's apprehension. The social welfare and development officer shall explain to the child and the child's parents/guardians the consequences of the child's act with a view towards counseling and rehabilitation, diversion from the criminal justice system, and reparation, if appropriate;

(j) Take the child immediately to the proper medical and health officer for a thorough physical and mental examination. The examination results shall be kept confidential unless otherwise ordered by the Family Court. Whenever the medical treatment is required, steps shall be immediately undertaken to provide the same;

(k) Ensure that should detention of the child in conflict with the law be necessary, the child shall be secured in quarters separate from that of the opposite sex and adult offenders;

(l) Record the following in the initial investigation:

1. Whether handcuffs or other instruments of restraint were used, and if so, the reason for such;

2. That the parents or guardian of a child, the DSWD, and the PA0 have been informed of the apprehension and the details thereof; and

3. The exhaustion of measures to determine the age of a child and the precise details of the physical and medical examination or the failure to submit a child to such examination; and

(m) Ensure that all statements signed by the child during investigation shall be witnessed by the child's parents or guardian, social worker, or legal counsel in attendance who shall affix his/her signature to the said statement.

A child in conflict with the law shall only be searched by a law enforcement officer of the same gender and shall not be locked up in a detention cell.

Sec. 22. Duties During Initial Investigation. - The law enforcement officer shall, in his/her investigation, determine where the case involving the child in conflict with the law should be referred.

The taking of the statement of the child shall be conducted in the presence of the following: (1) child's counsel of choice or in the absence thereof, a lawyer from the Public Attorney's Office; (2) the child's parents, guardian, or nearest relative, as the case may be; and (3) the local social welfare and development officer. In the absence of the child's parents, guardian, or nearest relative, and the local social welfare and development officer, the investigation shall be conducted in the presence of a representative of an NGO, religious group, or member of the BCPC.

After the initial investigation, the local social worker conducting the same may do either of the following:

(a) Proceed in accordance with Section 20 if the child is fifteen (15) years or below or above fifteen (15) but below eighteen (18) years old, who acted without discernment; and

(b) If the child is above fifteen (15) years old but below eighteen (18) and who acted with discernment, proceed to diversion under the following chapter.

Part of the mission of Bahay Pag-asa Dasmariñas is expressed in its Police Formation Program. Police officers and criminology interns are brought into the center from time to time to learn about CICLs (children in conflict with the law), the new laws regarding juvenile justice, and the programs offered by Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center. They are given a tour of the center by the residents themselves. Perhaps what is most important is that these officers and interns are able to meet the residents and to see what they are like after being at Bahay Pag-asa. It is hoped that, when these present and future officers of the law come into contact with a juvenile have allegedly committed an offense, they will see the young person as having the potential to be a good citizen and treat him accordingly.

The Wheels of Justice

It is said that the wheels of justice turn slowly, but there are definitely places where they turn more slowly than in others.  And this courtroom in the province of Cavite is one of them.   Two residents of Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center had a hearing scheduled for today.  We are looking for a resolution to their cases so that they can move on, focusing on their education and training for employment.  When we arrived, there were quite a few people including detainees from the jail (in identifying yellow shirts and handcuffs) and lawyers.  Our residents were wearing dress shoes, black pants and student-style collared shirts.  This is appropriate since they are currently taking courses, one at the high school level and one in college.  The court docket was posted on a bulletin board (below) and a quick look-through indicated that the court planned to deal with 63 cases before lunch.

It become clear very soon, however, that not much was going to happen.  Apparently the prosecuting attorney failed to arrive and so the judge did not enter the courtroom.  In fact, the only official in the courtroom was a woman whose duty it was to reschedule everyone's hearings.  Our boys' hearings were rescheduled for late October.  Looking around the courtroom, one can see pile after pile of documents tied up in bundles (see photo below).  It's not a very encouraging sight if you're looking for timely action.  This is the biggest problem of the current legal apparatus here - multiple delays.

 In one case here, a resident of Bahay Pag-asa was charged with gambling ("throwing coins" as they say).  His case involved delay after delay after delay.  It was three years before the court could render a verdict and his sentence was 6 months (time already served during his one year in jail).  Fortunately this boy spent most of the three years of judicial inaction at Bahay Pag-asa where he progressed steadily in his education - an education he was not receiving on the outside.  Imagine, however, the plight of young adults who find themselves waiting these delays out in a municipal jail.  Three years of malnutrition, violence, pressure from gangs, and communicable diseases with little treatment will take their toll.  That is why this work is so important - as long as judicial delays are the norm, there must be a healthy and educative place for young people to continue to grow and develop as citizens, students and moral beings.  The jail is no place for that.

While our upstairs courtroom was dead in the water, the downstairs courtroom seemed very busy with a hearing that must have been a bit more high-profile.  The usual BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) security was replaced with this fairly high-powered group - and there were quite a few more armed officers that you cannot see in the photo.  As we departed, I offered to buy snacks at Jollibee for our group so that our trip was not entirely wasted - and that seemed to keep our residents cheerful.

    Taylor Weidman | Photographer   taylorweidman.com

An excerpt from...

Decrepit, congested and subhuman

By Artemio V. Panganiban |Philippine Daily Inquirer

12:06 am | Sunday, August 3rd, 2014

"...ordinary accused are detained in decrepit city and provincial jails that are overcrowded by an average of 400 percent. Specifically, jail warden Elena Rocamora told the Sandiganbayan that the female dormitory in the Quezon City Jail, where prosecutors originally wanted Reyes to be detained, is crammed with 504 detainees, yet its rated capacity is only for 56; it is 800-percent overcrowded.

Elsewhere, the overcrowding is the same. The Manila City Jail, built to hold 1,000 inmates, actually houses over 5,000. It is so congested that inmates stand up most of the time, and take turns to lie down to sleep. Minors, who should be under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), are mixed with murder suspects.

Detainees sleep on the cement floor, wear uniforms of yellow T-shirts and brown pants, make do with a daily meal allowance (for breakfast, lunch and dinner) of P50, and line up for hours in communal toilet/baths.

May I stress that detainees in city and provincial jails are not convicted felons; they are put behind bars, either because they are charged with capital offenses or, more often, even though charged with bailable crimes, they are unable to produce the needed bail bond due to sheer poverty or plain ignorance of their right to bail.

The BJMP, which is under the Department of Interior and Local Government, manages the detention facilities while the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), under the Department of Justice, runs the National Penitentiary and other correctional institutions where convicts by final judgments are held.

Reforms needed. Needless to say, reforms are urgently needed to alleviate these subhuman conditions. Convicts are “luckier” than the presumed innocents because a year ago, on May 24, 2013, President Aquino signed into law Republic Act No. 10575 that upgraded the BuCor’s prison facilities, increased the number and pay of prison guards, and established the Philippine Prisons Academy to educate prisoners and guards.

To decongest the BJMP’s jails, the Supreme Court issued a resolution last May 18 limiting trials to only 180 days. (See my July 13 column for details.) In addition to the speedy implementation of this time limit, trial judges should prioritize the cases of detainees, especially of minors, who cannot post bail. Many times, they are detained longer than the prescribed penalty for the offenses they are charged with.

Of course, jail wardens should turn over minors to the DSWD and should not mix them with recidivists. They should not forget that detention prisoners are not convicts. They are detained only to ensure their presence in court (for those charged with capital offenses) or, to repeat, only for their inability to post bail bonds (for those charged with bailable crimes) due to poverty or ignorance of their right to bail.

Compelling and urgent is the need to build more and better detention facilities worthy of human dignity, remembering always that the average conviction rate of prosecutors is only about 20 percent. Thus, a vast majority of detention prisoners have a more-than-even chance of being acquitted. Yet, they are unjustly deprived of their liberty.

Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/77111/decrepit-congested-and-subhuman#ixzz39TbgIUH4
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How's the weather?

 When we arrived at Bahay Pag-asa Dasmariñas, we were informed that the weather station we installed several years ago was not entirely operational.  After some testing, we discovered that the weather station seemed to be working just fine, but that the obsolete computer it was connected to was not communicating with it.  The answer was simple - we needed to buy another computer for the weather station.  Fortunately we had enough funds from Club Pag-asa and other donors to purchase a laptop that can be dedicated to the weather station and also used by residents for educational purposes.  Today we set up the weather station and computer connection and are starting to collect weather data again.  Unfortunately, we don't have the wind speed data from Typhoon Glenda that blew through here about two weeks ago, but in the last photo here you can see the damage it caused on campus here at De La Salle University Dasmariñas.

    This is the Davis Vantage Vue Weather Station mounted on the roof of Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center.

 The weather station console on the left reports to our new computer on the right.

 The computer displays current weather data and allows for meteorological analysis using graphs.

Typhoon Glenda toppled many trees at DLSU-Dasmariñas, but the weather station survived.