Developments in Juvenile Justice in the Philippines

Child in jail, before RA9344 was passed.  Photo by Br. James Joost

Prior to 2005, there was little in Philippines law to provide for specialized treatment of youthful offenders.  Very young children could be found in jail cells, often living in crowded cells with 30 or more adult inmates.  Many of these young people became victims of abusive treatment while incarcerated and most waited months before their cases were considered by the courts.  Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center, Bacolod was opened (under the direction of Br. Gus Boquer, President of the University of Saint La Salle) while these conditions still existed.  The first residents of Bahay Pag-asa emerged from the jails traumatized, tattooed by inmates, and in poor health.  There were instances in which juveniles died in the jails before they could be relocated to other programs.

In 2005, after human rights organizations highlighted the deplorable conditions under which juvenile offenders were being incarcerated, the government of the Philippines passed Republic Act 9344 which became known as the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (http://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2006/ra_9344_2006.html).  This legislation raised the age of criminal liability to 18 (or 15 in cases where it was determined by the court that the young person had acted with "discernment") and it mandated that juvenile offenders should not be detained in police lockups or jails for any extended period of time but should be returned to their families as soon as possible.  The law also directed that a system of intervention services should be set up to steer juveniles away from criminal activity.

As is often the case, the portions of the law which did not require funding (the discharge of youthful offenders from jails) happened rather quickly, and the parts of the law requiring allocation of resources (intervention services and guidance) often did not take place.  Bahay Pag-asa, Bacolod continued to operate through the subsequent years, during which there was considerable confusion and disagreement as to what RA 9344 really required and how it should be implemented.  Brothers Vince Fernandez and Arian Lopez were directors during these challenging years, and they continued to provide a safe home, guidance and education to youthful offenders while dealing with confusing issues involving the courts and social services (DSWD).

Crime syndicates soon began to take advantage of children and teens from the poorest of homes, telling them that they could assist the adult criminals without having to worry about arrest or prosecution.  Incidences of juvenile crime increased.  Some frustrated police officers gave up even apprehending juveniles involved in crime because they would be released almost immediately and be committing the same crimes within days.  In other places, death squads (known locally as "salvage teams") carried out extrajudicial killings of teenagers who were repeat offenders.  Many citizens began calling for the repeal or amendment of RA 9344.

Most recently, RA 10630 (titled "An Act Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines") was passed by the legislature and signed into law by President Aquino on October 3, 2013.  This law (http://www.gov.ph/2013/10/03/republic-act-no-10630/) maintained the age of criminal liability at 18 (or 15 for those who have acted with discernment), but mandated that juveniles as young as 12 years of age may be involuntarily committed to a "Bahay Pag-asa" for rehabilitation and education.  By this time, a second Lasallian Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center was operating at the campus of De La Salle University, Dasmariñas (where Br. Gus Boquer is currently president).  Directors Ms. Jennysan Lazarito (at Bacolod) and Dr. Alrien Dausan (at Dasmariñas) have been working to plan how the centers would assist in the implementation of this law.  Local governments are required by law to open their own "Bahay Pag-asa" facilities, but it is still unclear how soon or how extensively, this will occur.

In the midst of all these changes, the Lasallian Brothers, partners and educators in the Philippines remain committed to providing a healthy, academic, formative and faith-filled home for those young people who are "in conflict with the law."  It is a very big task, but one that fits perfectly the mission of the Brothers (and, by extension, all who work with them): to provide a human and Christian education for the young, especially the poor.