PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for a total response from a nationwide “whole-of-society effort” to protect children and youth from what he said were “pernicious influences,” like a toxic culture of hate, online violence and easily available pornography. These are the evil influences that corrupt our youth and propel them to commit acts of sexual abuse, harm and violence.
Helping these abused and corrupted youth is what the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, also known as Republic Act (RA) 9344, as amended by RA 10630, is designed for: to hold them accountable and correct their terrible mistakes by education, therapy, training in human rights and dignity, and teaching strong moral and spiritual values.
The law and its drafters understand the lack of discernment of young children committing crimes and shift the focus from penalizing and punishing minors to providing them with a restorative justice system where their rights are respected, and they are helped to overcome the negative influences heaped on them in a corrupt society. The House of Hope, or Bahay Pag-asa, was established by law to enable the law to be implemented. The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) oversees the implementation of this justice framework across the country.
While the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has raised alarm over several local centers that still resemble prisons, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) launched a P275 million funding initiative to build new regional Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA) models engineered strictly as rehabilitative, homelike safe spaces. However, cities like Marikina and Parañaque are allegedly falling short. The CHR highlighted several poor conditions and child protection gaps within several of the Bahay Pag-asa facilities nationwide.
According to the CHR’s situational monitoring report, the specific issues needing immediate attention are changing the jail-like features of the so-called “Houses of Hope.” These facilities are like detention centers rather than restorative, safe environments, the CHR report said. There was evidence of physical violence, abuse and violent conduct occurring during a child’s initial apprehension.
It also mentioned staff misconduct (ill-treatment and lack of proper handling of the minors by facility personnel), substandard living conditions (poor overall quality of life, care, and basic nutrition within the shelters), restricted family contact (overly strict or heavily limited visitation rules that isolate children from their families), institutional bottlenecks (significant delays in the legal disposition of the minors’ cases), lack of basic services (highly limited access to crucial health care and formal education), and under-resourced facilities (severe shortages in specialized staff, local social workers, and daily operational resources).
The effect of these experiences on young people locked up in caged facilities, like dogs in an animal pound, would be sufficient to turn them hostile to authority and society from which they suffered mistreatment and hardship. They are likely to be influenced more by the malign influencers and the violent games and sex abuse over the internet by the money-making corporate corruptors of children and youth.
They can be turned to the good and to reject evil if given the chance to experience being respected, valued, encouraged, affirmed and listened to as people with dignity. If given the opportunity to learn their value as human beings and children of God, they do change, grow and thrive in a new life like that provided at the Preda Foundation. For over 53 years of providing transformational therapy and education in an open center, approximately over 1,500 children and youths now lead productive lives of value./PN
