Club
Pag-asa says a big "Thank You!" to Arnoldo and Lily Contreras, staff
members at Cathedral High School who work through the late hours each
night making sure that the school is ready for the next day. Today they
purchased a month of college education
for one of the Bahay Pag-asa residents! We are grateful, humbled and
challenged by their generosity. They inspire us to do whatever we can
to make hope happen! Salamat gid! (Thank you very much!)
Lasallian Pag-asa ("Lasallian Hope") seeks to provide resources for those who would like to better understand the world of "children in conflict with the law," especially in the Philippines. We also work to assist the Lasallian Bahay Pag-asa Youth Centers in their ministry on behalf of these young people. Br. Dan Fenton is currently residing and working at Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center in Bacolod, Philippines. Contact him at brdanfenton@hotmail.com.
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Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Is College a Reality for Young Men Finishing Their Program at Bahay Pag-asa?
We asked Ms. Jennysan Lazarito, director of
Bahay Pag-asa Bacolod (shown in this photo with a former Bahay Pag-asa
resident who is graduating from college as a math teacher), to describe
the scholarship needs of the graduates of Bahay Pag-asa Youth Center's
programs. Today we received this information: "Good morning Br. Dan.
The latest on scholarship needs is this: Reynaldo Aurino, Harrison
Lobrique, Jason Fernandez, Reshan Jay Estaniel, Mark Gumadlas, and
Ronnie Albajeso are our next young men
who are qualified to begin college if we can afford their classes. I
hope they can be considered in Club Pag-asa's fundraising efforts. They
will need uniform, tuition fee, and transportation allowances, rounding
it off to more or less P5000 per month per scholar. Thank you and see
you all, God speed!" 5000 Philippine pesos is about US$112 at current
exchange rates. Imagine college in the US at $112 per month! But
that's all that is standing between these transformed young men and a
promising future that will allow them to lead productive lives and help
their families. Please consider donating a month of college (lets just
say $100) or a week of college ($25). If enough of us care, we can make
this happen. You can send donations (a check made out to "De La Salle
Institute") with a note specifying that it is for "Bahay Pag-asa Bacolod
Scholarship Fund." Mail donations to De La Salle Institute, 4401
Redwood Road, Napa, CA 94558-9708, attn: Julie Hosford. Together we can
make hope happen!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
‘Teen courts’ Suggested in Juvenile Law Amendment
Rimaliza A. OpiƱa, Baguio Midland Courier, 4/6/2014
Establishment of “teen courts” are among the suggestions of a special committee tasked to study proposals to amend Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act.
Teen courts will exclusively handle cases involving youthful offenders. The Criminal Code Committee (CCC) under the Department of Justice suggested in a policy paper the special court will follow special procedures when dealing with offenders.
Consistent with a Supreme Court circular outlining how the courts should deal with charged offenders, the CCC said discernment should be initially handled by a social worker and finally by the court in the case of a child charged with a non-serious offense.
In the prosecution of offenders, the CCC said the court should be guided by the “Beijing Rules,” which means they should be tried differently from that of an adult. Offenders may also avail themselves of provisional release on recognizance and bail.
Reduction in formality in courtroom procedures was also recommended.
The House Committee on Justice began hearing inputs for the amendment, in particular the provision prescribing the minimum age of criminal responsibility for youthful offenders.
The Baguio city council is one of those that pushed for an amendment of the law, following the gravity of crimes committed by minors.
From 15 years old, the proposed amendment is to lower this to 13 years old.
In the Baguio leg of the hearing conducted last Thursday, the House Committee on Justice presented the policy paper of the DOJ CCC, which recommended lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13.
To buttress its support to the clamor to lower the age of criminal liability, the CCC cited national and international studies and data from the Philippine National Police showing the increasing trend of youth involved in crimes.
Recent data it gathered from the PNP showed from 1,825 children charged in 2007, this steadily rose until 2010. From 2,739 in 2009, youth offenders rose to 4,246 in 2010. The age range of the highest number of offenders is between the ages of 16 and 17, the CCC added.
The CCC said the same trend is happening at the international level.
While the Philippines is a signatory to international conventions and treaties protecting the rights of a child, the CCC explained in the policy paper, nothing in the amendment contravene international laws. It said international laws recognize States have a sovereign right to determine their own threshold for domestic criminal responsibility.
“A 2009 survey of the Unicef revealed there are enhanced educational opportunities available to today’s children, either through formal schooling or through exposure to media and Internet, this means that an average Filipino child reaches social maturity more quickly and is capable of distinguishing right from wrong at a younger age.”
“Since an average Filipino child would have received at least six years of formal education in elementary education by the age of 13, they must, by then, have presumably inculcated in themselves the notion of right or wrong as well as the necessary moral attitudes and social values essential for their recognition that as certain act is a “serious wrong, which can possibly expose them to punishment,” the CCC added in the policy paper.
Rehabilitative approaches in dealing with youthful offenders remain a salient part of RA 9344.
The CCC suggested intervention programs should include a supervisory component and a treatment component.
The former constrains a juvenile’s freedom to act and access social and personal amenities including incarceration as the most extreme form of intervention, while the latter include counseling, mediation, cognitive behavioral therapy, academic instruction, and vocational training.
As much as possible, the CCC said detention should be the last resort.
In the apprehension of offenders, the CCC said unnecessary force should be avoided.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Proposed Lowering of the Age of Criminal Liability
BAGUIO CITY, Philippines—Children aged
13 who commit serious criminal offenses would have to stand trial under a
proposed amendment to the criminal code now being discussed in Congress,
according to the House committee on justice which held a public consultation
here on Thursday.
Except for changing the age of
“criminal responsibility” from 15 to 13, the amendments would not change the
juvenile justice system in any way, said Iloilo Representative Niel Tupas Jr.,
the committee chair.
It may not even be enforced until after
the term of President Aquino ends in 2016, when the measure is expected to pass
Congress, Tupas said.
The consultation addressed Book 1 of a
new crime codification measure (House Bill 2300 or the proposed Philippine Code
of Crimes) and a bill that would require prosecutors to coordinate with the
police in the early stages of a criminal investigation (HB 2032 or the Criminal
Investigation Act of 2013).
Both measures intend to speed up the
judicial process and unclog dockets.
Although HB 2032 was expected to be
more contentious, it was HB 2300 which has drawn more objections when the bills
were introduced in consultations around the country, Tupas said.
He said HB 2300 seeks to again amend
the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (Republic Act 9344), which was
strengthened in 2013 when Mr. Aquino signed into law RA 10630 (the amended
juvenile justice law).
The juvenile justice system prevents
the government from treating child offenders as ordinary criminals, even those
older than the minimum age of criminal liability.
Instead, the law enforces a program of
counseling and retraining for offenders younger than 15, unless the government
proves that the child or teenager was aware that he or she had committed a
serious crime.
Even then, the law requires the
government to place a child convicted of a heinous crime under the care of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development.
“The juvenile justice law is different.
It protects the rights of children [who find themselves in conflict with the
law]. That will not be touched [by the crime code],” Tupas said.
But he said the police had lobbied
Congress to lower the age of criminal liability, which it failed to do when RA
10630 was enacted.
Evidence provided by the police has
convinced the House justice committee that organized criminals have used
children as young as 13 to avoid prosecution.
This was the reason it
incorporated the new age of criminal responsibility in the updated crime code,
Tupas said.
Most convicted children get suspended
sentences and are remanded to the custody of their families who have the final
say on the remediation of their children, he said.
“The problem in some instances is that
the families themselves encourage bad behavior…. So what if the family decides
against pursuing the government counseling process? Then it ends there,” he
said.
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