cicl case study report

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Research on the Situation of Children in Conflict with the Law in Selected Metro Manila Cities

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This study examines the situation of children in conflict with the law (CICL) within the context of the criminal justice system in metro Manila cities, and identifies the major gaps and abuses that occur within the system. It focuses in particular on aspects of city and Barangay ordinances and resolutions, profile of children in conflict with the law, observance of laws, and diversion.

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Child Protection , Child Protection Systems

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Case Research of Personology of Filipino Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL)

PSIKODIMENSIA

In the Philippines, afar from the usual attachment, a child sometimes leads to offend out of survival necessity that leads to total separation from their family, this explains a phenomenon of conflict to the law. Aiming to describe the profile and personology of CICL in Bahay Kalinga; and its correlates. Case research was used in analyzing violations, family structure and personology among 20 participants. In-house CICL’s profile depicted: 15 years and 9 months as average age; substantial number of boys committed offences than girls; commonly falls below poverty rate; majority stop schooling; all own a dysfunctional family; and affirmed 4-5 family members. Regarding personology, mostly verified an average self-concept, majority pointed out having realistic self-image, and beyond median represented low self-esteem. Descriptions and measures of their profile and personology could determine the risk of being CICL. The patterns of personology were focused through the information of thei...

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Dispute Resolution, Litigation, Arbitration

2019 Revised Rule on Children in Conflict with the Law, now in effect.

On 22 January 2019, the Supreme Court released the 2019 Revised Rule on Children in Conflict with the Law, effective on 07 July 2019 (“Revised CICL Rules”). The revisions introduced aim to strengthen the protection of children in conflict with the law and establish that charges involving a minor are now bailable as a matter of right.

The main changes introduced by the Revised CICL Rules are:

• Non-applicability of the Rules to a “Child at risk”

A “Child at risk” is defined as a “child who is vulnerable to and at the risk of committing criminal offenses because of personal, family and other social circumstances.” Included in this definition are children who violate ordinances enacted by local governments concerning juvenile status offenses.

• Procedure in Taking a CICL in Custody

A child in conflict with the law taken into custody shall now be searched by a law enforcement officer only of the same gender and shall not be locked up in a detention cell. Instead, immediately and not later than eight (8) hours after apprehension, the CICL shall be turned over to the Social Welfare and Development Office or other accredited non-government organizations, and the child’s parents/guardians and Public Attorney’s Office shall be notified of such apprehension.

• Duties of Law Enforcement Officers

During initial investigation, law enforcement officers’ duties include:

• o Determining whether the case involves a CICL and where to refer the CICL to;
• o The taking of the statement of a CICL shall be conducted in the presence of (a) child’s counsel of choice, or in his absence, a Public Attorney’s Office lawyer; (b) the CICL’s parents, guardian, or nearest relative, as the case may be; and (c) the local social welfare office. If the CICL’s parents, guardian, or nearest relative, as the case may be, and the local social welfare and development officer are absent, the investigation shall be conducted in the presence of a representative of a non-government organization, religious group, or member of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children.
• Social Welfare Officer’s Duty to Conduct an Initial Assessment and Render Intake Report

Upon taking of the CICL into custody, the social welfare worker assigned should conduct an initial assessment to determine whether to place the CICL under community-based intervention or diversion, depending on the circumstances of the case, and prepare an Intake Report (containing the personal and other circumstances of the CICL), which should be submitted to the court prior to arraignment in the event that a case is to be filed in court.

• Intervention / Diversion Programs

The following are factors to be used by the Diversion Committee in determining whether diversion is appropriate:

• o Nature and circumstances of the offense charged;
• o The frequency and severity of the act;
• o The circumstances of the child (e.g. age, maturity, intelligence, etc.);
• o The influence of the family and environment on the growth of the child;
• o The weight of the evidence against the child;
• o The safety of the community; and
• o The best interest of the child.

If diversion is appropriate, the Diversion Committee shall formulate a diversion program for the CICL depending on various factors such as the availability of community-based programs for rehabilitation and the past records of the child. Diversion will include adequate socio-cultural and psychological responses and services for the child and address the satisfaction of the civil liability of the child, without prejudice to the liability of the parents for damages. To avoid liability for damages, the CICL’s parents may prove to the satisfaction of the court that they exercised reasonable supervision over the child at the time of commission of offense and reasonable effort and utmost diligence to prevent or discourage the child from committing another offense.

• Rehabilitation Centers

A child charged with an offense who was not released on bail or recognizance may be transferred to a “Bahay Pag-asa” or rehabilitation centers or other appropriate accredited facilities by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which will have an intensive juvenile intervention and support center. Further, sexual orientation of the CICL shall be taken into consideration in determining the adequate quarters at Bahay Pag-Asa.

It was likewise clarified that all charges involving a minor are bailable as a matter of right as, for purposes of bail, minority is a privileged mitigating circumstance.

• Credit in Service of Sentence

While previously, there were exceptions to the Credit in Service of Sentence of the child in conflict with the law, all CICLs shall now be credited in the service of his/her sentence with the full time spent in actual commitment and detention. Further, any form of physical restraint including community service and commitment to a rehabilitation center shall be considered preventive imprisonment.

To read the entire 2019 Revised Rule on Children in Conflict with the Law, click here .

To read the entire 2009 Revised Rule on Children in Conflict with the Law click here .

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Disclaimer: The information in this website is provided for general informational purposes only. No information contained in this post should be construed as legal advice from Platon Martinez or the individual author, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting on the basis of any information included in, or accessible through this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances.

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When ‘Houses of Hope’ fail children in conflict with the law

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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Part 2 of 3

READ:  Part 1: Beyond juvenile delinquency: Why children break the law

MANILA, Philippines – Rehabilitation is a crucial factor in reintegrating into society children in conflict with the law (CICL). But sometimes the very centers mandated to help them fall short of doing so.

Such is the case in Caloocan City’s Yakap-Bata Holding Center, where 34 CICL are detained. It is too cramped for these children, said a mother whose son has been inside for nearly 4 months now. (READ: On 2nd chances: Children in conflict with the law )

Crowded juvenile centers with dismal conditions are not exclusive to Yakap-Bata, as it is a prevalent condition among youth homes and other shelters. (READ: Finding ‘Frederico’ )

In 2013, Republic Act 10630 was passed to amend the Juvenile Justice Act of 2006. The new legislation allows children as young as 12 years old to be held criminally liable for serious crimes such as rape and murder, among others. 

The law also mandates local government units to establish “ houses of hope ” or Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA) to offer rehabilitation, diversion, and intervention.

But as with most legislations, implementation of RA 10630 remains a challenge for LGUs, whose years of neglect have allowed for inhumane conditions of children inside youth centers.

The Yakap-Bata Holding Center was established in 2010 even before LGUs were mandated to manage youth homes. But 4 years since RA 10630 was enacted into law, CICL in Caloocan are made to stay in a center reeking with foul odor, swallowed by cramped spaces and iron bars.

Rappler went to Yakap-Bata but was not allowed to enter its premises. They allowed us to interview a child offender and a social worker but only in the office of the city social worker department head.

A city hall worker, who refused to be named, said the condition inside the center is “not conducive” to children’s development and is “not child-friendly.”

The department has restricted access to the center, the employee said, especially after the media wrote about conditions.

The center is located on the 3rd floor of the building in the city hall compound. The second level is where local residents can obtain marriage licenses, among others.

Aurora*, 56, is a mother of a 16-year-old boy who has been detained in the center for 3 months due to alleged drug use. Aurora told Rappler her son has asked her to help get him out because of the difficult conditions inside.

“Sabi nya sa akin: ‘Ma, pakitang tao lang ang mga ‘yan. Kunwari ‘pag may bisita maayos kami at may pagkain. Pero pag wala, iba na sila,” Aurora told Rappler.

(He told me: ‘Ma, they are just putting up a show. When there are visitors, they make it seem like we’re fine and there’s food. When the visitors are gone, they become different.)

Her son complained of no food, lack of space to move around, and unsanitary surroundings. According to a piece in the Inquirer , children “eat with their hands and get drinking water from the broken faucet in the bathroom.”

Aurora said Yakap-Bata children wear torn clothes. The Juvenile Justice Welfare Council requires that children be given 4 sets of new clothing and essential toiletries upon arrival at house of hope.

Aurora added the overpowering smell of the toilet each time she visits her son is something you can’t ignore.

Her son supposedly told her: “Ma, tulungan mo ko makaalis dito. Impiyerno rito. Hindi ito DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development.) Kung DSWD ito, makakapaglaro kami. Doon na lang ako sa city jail, makakagalaw pa ako doon, mabuti pa doon.”

(Ma, help me leave this place. This is hell. This is not DSWD. If this were DSWD, I would be allowed to play. I prefer the city jail, where I can move around. It’s better there.)

Aurora said children there have no activities. Since it’s located on the 3rd floor of the city hall building, children are not allowed to play and even go outside.

Rappler asked the city hall employee if the following Yakap-Bata pictures posted a few years ago by Preda Foundation, a human rights organization, still mirror present conditions. The employee nodded.

Rappler also obtained current photos inside Yakap-Bata.

Robert Quizon, officer-in-charge of the city social welfare department, refuted Aurora’s claims.

Quizon said the city government has increased the food budget to P140 per child from P100.

“Hindi totoo yun. Nilakihan ng city, ginawa na ngang P140. Malabo yun,” Quizon told Rappler in a phone interview. (That is not true. The city increased the budget to P140. That’s not possible.)

Asked about the alleged jail-like situation inside Yakap-Bata, Quizon said:  “Hindi totoo yun. Minsan lang more on sa nakikita or observation nila ang pinanghahawakan ng mga bisita, di sila magtanong sa amin. Katunayan niyan, may mga taga-UP (University of the Philippines) and DSWD na bumaba na dito sa amin, sila mismo dapat ang nagsabi sa amin kung may mali silang nakita.”

(That is not true. Sometimes visitors just focus more on what they see and their observations instead of asking us about them. In fact, there are those from UP and DSWD who have visited us. They should be the ones to tell us if they saw anything wrong.)

“Mukha lang kulungan in a sense. Pero meron po kaming pinapagawang bago yun na ang aming Bahay Pag-Asa,” Quizon said, adding they are still unsure when they can transfer to the newly-built youth home. (It looks like a prison in a sense but we are already building a new one, our Bahay Pag-Asa.)

Substandard, unmanned LGU-run centers?

RA 10630 mandates that each province and highly-urbanized city “shall be responsible for building, funding, and operating a ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ (BPA) within their jurisdiction following the standards that will be set by DSWD and adopted by the JJWC.” The minimum age for children who can be brought to youth-care facilities such as BPA is 12 years old.

Preda earlier told Rappler that while children have no longer been detained in prison since 2006, some BPAs are not far from jails.

“Most of these LGU-run centers are substandard, young children are abused by older, bigger children, sometimes even with the knowledge and worse, consent of the staff,” Francis Bermido Jr, executive director of Preda Foundation, earlier said . 

Such is the situation even in centers sponsored by the DSWD. Social Welfare Secretary Judy Taguiwalo said there is no 1:1 bed capacity ratio in centers primarily due to overcrowding. She is now asking for additional budget for the construction of Bahay Pag-Asa for CICL.

“The National Training School for Boys (NTSB) is overcrowded and cannot comply with the set standards. The increasing number of clients being served makes it necessary and urgent for the DSWD to ask for an increased budget so we can hire additional staff and so we can expand the facilities the clients and the centers need,” Taguiwalo said.

According to the JJWC, there are at least two out of the 16 cities and one municipality required to run a BPA that have received first-level accreditation from the DSWD. This is only in Metro Manila. But other cities, municipalities, and far-flung areas have the same problem.

Another problem is the lack of well-trained staff to support children in conflict with the law. Ideally, there should be a ratio of one social worker to 25 CICL but what happens on the ground is far from reality.

Yakap-Bata has only one social worker, Rowelyn Acdog. As of November 2016, there are 34 CICL in the center. But that number could sometimes increase to 50. The Manila Youth Reception Center has only 6 workers, with each handling more than 30 children. Other BPAs have the same situation.

Rappler contacted MYRC but it did not respond to a request for an interview or visit.

Hope remains in Bahay Pag-Asa

In the nearby city of Valenzuela , the locally funded Bahay Pag-Asa is a stark contrast to Caloocan’s Yakap-Bata – well-ventilated rooms, enough space for kids to play, activities for children, and no pungent smell of human waste.

Andy*, 18 years old, accused of raping his 7-year-old cousin and adoptive sister when he was 16 years old, has been in the center for nearly two years now. He has focused his time on drawing, with the center employing an art teacher for the kids.

The teenage boys are also allowed to communicate with the girls residing in the adjacent Bahay Kalinga.

Social worker Mary June Paundog said their resident doctors have suggested that boys be allowed to communicate with the opposite sex. After all, they are in the stage of puberty and preventing them from doing so could rob them of that experience, she added.

“They do sign language across the window. That’s it. Sometimes they write to express their thoughts,” Paundog said.

Andy said his house parent once allowed him to talk to his then girlfriend for 5 minutes. This served as his reward for doing well in a task.

Paundog, however, said they also experience having more children than what the center could take.

At present, there are more than 60 CICL when the center could only ideally accommodate 35. But so far, she said the condition of the children has not suffered.

Paundog said another reason why the center goes beyond capacity is that children who have no families to return to prefer to stay in the center. There are instances, she said, when already released children come knocking on the center’s doors again because they have no food or place to sleep in their own homes.

“Technically, wala siyang batas pero for the best interest of the child. Kasi kung magbabatas-batas tayo di puwede. Pero mas hahayaan mo ba sila na nasa labas na walang pamilya? But as much as possible hinahanapan namin ng paraan, hinahanap namin ang tito at tita maski nasa malayong probinsya,” she said.

(Technically, it’s not in the law but it’s for the best interest of the child. Because if we just base it on the law, it’s not allowed. But would you let them stay outside without a family? But as much as possible we find ways to get them their guardians, we look for an aunt and uncle even if they are in the provinces.)

Not enough space, not enough budget, not enough social workers for an increasing number of CICL. That leaves the children, who go in for rehabilitation, not much of a choice nor a chance for change and a better future.  – Rappler.com

Part 3: Children in conflict with the law: Cracks in Juvenile Justice Act

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Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

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What is a child in conflict with the law (CICL)?

CHECK THIS  PAGE   FOR PCIJ's REPORTS ON PRISONS

According to the PNP’s 2016 Manual in Handling Children at Risk and Children in Conflict with the Law: “A ‘child in conflict with the law’ or ‘CICL’ refers to a child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an offense under Philippine laws.”

In the Philippines, a child or a minor is legally defined as a person below 18 years of age. Under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, age 15 is the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR). Lawmakers, however, have been pushing for the lowering of MACR from 15 to 12 – a move that has been strongly opposed by many child rights advocates and experts.

How many CICLs are there in the country?

The PNP Women and Children Protection Center has reported that from January to December 2020, authorities arrested 15,892 CICLs. Of these, 1,806 were undergoing diversion at the police level and 9,502 were turned over to Local Social Welfare and Development Officers (LSWDO) or DSWD representatives. A total of 2,447 CICLs were turned over to their families, while 3,111 were at large. Thirty-seven juveniles were incarcerated in facilities under BJMP.

Crimes allegedly committed by CICLs in 2020 were rape (1,506 offenders), violation of RA 9165 (Prohibited Drugs) (1,207), theft (765), and other crimes (10,079). In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, 1,452 were arrested in violation of RA 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern). 

As of December 2020, there were 37 Bahay Pag-asa facilities across the country, funded and maintained by local government units. Meanwhile, in Regional Rehabilitation Centers for the Youth, there was overcrowding. From January to December 2020, there were 1,118 beds but 1,738 “clients” served in these beds.

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