Sunday, August 19, 2007 Judge defends juvenile justice By Jujemay G. Awit Sun.Star Staff Reporter
A REGIONAL Trial Court (RTC) judge does not believe the effects of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act are as grave as the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) puts it.
RTC Judge Olegario Sarmiento, also co-chairperson of the Cebu City Operation Second Chance Center (CCOSCC), disagreed with CCPO Acting Chief Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador, who said minors committed 62 percent of all recent crimes in the city.
In his own sala at Branch 24, Sarmiento said there were only 34 cases involving minors. That figure does not represent the bulk of his total number of cases and none of those are heinous crimes.
The judge also went to neighboring RTC Judge Manuel Patalinghug of Branch 22, and found no records of minors involved in drug pushing. Records show, though, that the minors were the victims, rather than suspects.
Sarmiento was the guest speaker in the fifth anniversary of the center yesterday.
Change
He spoke of how minors were reformed and rehabilitated inside the facility, in answer to reports that the same minor offenders have become a menace to society.
“The center is a venue for children in conflict with the law to change, to become productive citizens of the nation,” Sarmiento said.
Repeat offenders represent only one in every 10 minors released from the center, he added.
Comendador, in a two-page position paper, has said Republic Act 9344 ought to be repealed or modified. He cited that from January to June this year, there were 600 cases involving minors, while there were five other cases filed for heinous crimes.
Sarmiento, for is part, is amenable to amending the law, but not repealing it. The judge explained that he would prefer if the age for criminal liability is reduced to 13, from the present 15.
Discernment
“Madali man og mature ang mga bata (Children will be forced to mature early), and (the ability to tell) what is good and what is bad is universal. This will also address or prevent the rampant use of minors in criminal syndicates,” Sarmiento told Sun.Star Cebu.
Under the new law, 15 is the maximum age of exemption from criminal liability. Minors younger than 15 will be exempt from criminal liability and will be subjected to an intervention program unless they are proven to have “acted with discernment.”
Cebu City Councilor Rodrigo Abellanosa, chairperson of the committee on social services, also wants a review of RA 9344 to address the alleged exploitation of children for criminal acts.
“It is a good law that needs refinement,” the councilor, who was also a guest at the anniversary, said.
City Task Force on Street Children (CCTFSC) executive director Abeth Cuizon agreed that it is a good law.
“The law is in the best interest of the children,” said Cuizon.
The anniversary celebration, which saw the center being opened to the public for a day, started with a mass in the morning, a program after and a sports meet.
Teacher
During the program, several groups and individuals were awarded for their contributions to the center, like the CCTFSC, the University of San Jose-Recoletos, Department of Education, Don Bosco Technology Center, Sacred Heart and Guadalupe Baring.
Baring, 71, a retired teacher, received the loudest applause when she received her certificate. She has been doing voluntary work at the center since its inception in August 2002. Before that, she taught at the city jail for six years.
Teaching is her passion. And she does so without compensation, visiting the center every morning from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., teaching students reading, writing and arithmetic.
“Gipanaad man ni nako nga pasalamat sa Ginoo kay wala man koy kwarta (my teaching them is my way of thanking God). I just want to share my knowledge, seeing that my five children are successful,” Baring told Sun.Star on why she volunteers at the center.
Don Bosco provides a course in woodworking at the facility.
Don Bosco volunteer Giles Satorre led a tour of the working area of the minors, where they make picture frames, tables, stools, spice racks, crucifixes and others. Finished products were displayed at the open house.
What they do
All year round, the minors have special activities. These activities were well-documented and pictures were posted at the entrance of the center.
In January, the minors celebrate the Sinulog; they make Valentine’s cards in February; hold a commencement ceremony in March; celebrate Holy Week in April; undergo medical check-up in May; and conduct a sportsfest in June.
There are 67 minors detained at the CCOSCC, three of them females.
They are between 15 and 18 years old, in concurrence to the new law signed by the President on April 28, 2006, said Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Warden Senior Insp. Joyce Abar.
She said that before RA 9344 was implemented, there were more than 180 minors at the center.
The facility is manned by 12 BJMP personnel, three social workers and 10 house-parents.
