Child in Conflict with the Law (Introduction)

“Ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng bayan”. (“The children are the hope of our nation”)

- Dr. Jose Rizal

This famous quote by our very own national hero strongly resonates the
undeniable value and role of the children in the future of every nation. For indeed, the
children are the ones who will appreciate all legacy, treasures and aspirations that we will
leave them.

As reiterated by Suparna Sinha (2018), you may adopt all the policies you please,
but how they are carried out depends on him. The fate of humanity is in his hands.
Children are a human resource, invaluable but vulnerable, yet developing with
potentiality to bloom with joy in an atmosphere of caring society. They are great promise
of tomorrow, the dawn of humanity and bud of social development.

Sinha, S. (2018). Child in conflict with law. Retrieved February 6, 2019

https://www.academia.edu/5040595/Child_in_Conflict_with_law?auto=download

In the study made the Ateneo Human Rights Center (2004), it was mentioned that
Article 43 of the United Nations of the Rights of Children (UNCRC) requires State
Parties to establish a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have
the capacity to infringe the penal law. Rule 4 of the United Nations Standard Minimum
Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, otherwise known as the Beijing Rules,
proposes that the beginning of the age of criminal responsibility shall not be fixed at too
low an age level, bearing in mind the facts of emotional, mental and intellectual maturity
of the child (Ateneo Human Rights Center).

Ateneo Human Rights Center. (2004). Research on the situation of children in

conflict with the law in selected Metro Manila cities. Retrieved February 7, 2019
https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/sites/default/files/documents/3147.pdf

Locally, Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Law of 2006 sets the minimum
age of criminal liability at 15 years old – meaning those between 15 to 18 years old may
be detained in youth centers and be put through rehabilitation programs. Those under 15
years old are exempted from criminal liability and undergo intervention. Prior to this law,
children were locked up in jails together with adults even for petty offenses. They were
vulnerable to abuse during arrest and detention. An average of 10,515 children were
arrested every year, the Department of Social Welfare and Development reported in 2014.
Then, in 2012, RA 10630 was passed to amend the previous law. The new legislation
allows children as young as 12 years old to be held liable for serious crimes such as rape,
murder, among others (Elemia, 2017).
 Elemia. C. (2017). Beyond juvenile delinquency: Why children break the law.
Retrieved February 6. 2019 https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/151423-why-
children-break-law-juvenile-justice

Elemia also revealed that family, poverty, and environment were the main factors
that causes Filipino children to be delinquent. Similar conclusions were forwarded by
Lloyd Daniel Nkoli Tlale (2013) who stated that Filipino children who come into conflict
with the law are often from marginalised groups, including street youth, drug users and
those with interrupted education who have limited access to the family and societal
structures meant to protect them.

Nkoli Tlale, L.D. (2013). Understanding and giving support to children in conflict
with the law: A socio-ecological perspective. Retrieved February 8, 2019
http://uir.unisa.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10500/11963/thesis_tlale_ldn.pdf?sequence=1&is
Allowed=y

Given the above circumstances, the preceding laws present a number of ways on
how to deal children who are in conflict with the law. Unfortunately, here in the
Philippines, there is a significant lapse in the proper and humane implementation of the
said laws. In the article by Cabildo and Reysio-Cruz (2016), it was reported that an
investigation on the ‘house of hopes’ shows a starkly different reality: one where years of
government neglect, including lack of funding and staff, allowed inhumane and decrepit
living environments to persist. A majority of children placed in these shelters are locked up
in dilapidated, unsanitary areas no different from prison cells, deprived of basic needs like
clothing and food. Their emotional and mental needs are neglected. Rather than
rehabilitating, this setup further deprives CICL of their liberty,. This is alarming given that
the Philippine National Police recorded 2,462 cases of CICL in Metro Manila between
2012 and 2015, and nearly 40,000 nationwide.

Cabildo, J. and Reysio-Cruz, M. (2016). Children in conflict with law. Retrieved

February 6, 2018 https://opinion.inquirer.net/95882/children-in-conflict-with-law

It is on the above premises that prompted the researcher to conduct this study
which look into the challenges experienced by those in authorities who are involve with
those children who are in conflict with the law. May this study serve as an eye-opener
and provide more in depth understanding about the processes related to these children.

These sad realities are truly heartbreaking. We are all guilty as they say for it
takes a community to raise a child. Abella (2016) said that children are the priceless gift
from God and are the treasure of one family. The family and the community have the
primal role in shaping the totality of these children.
 Abella, J.L. (2016). Extent of factors influencing the delinquent acts among
children in conflict with the law. Retrieved February 7, 2019
https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/extent-of-the-factors-influencing-the-
delinquent-acts-among-children-inconflict-with-the-law-2375-4494-
1000288.php?aid=71911