DAVAO City is currently lacking rehabilitation homes for children in conflict with the law (CICLs), an official who caters to social services said.
Davao City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO) reported that there are presently 104 child offenders residing in the Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA) in the city while it was supposed to accommodate only 50 to 60 children to give a standard environment for rehabilitation and transformation.
Another 148 CICLs are being closely monitored by the CSSDO through the community-based tool for diversion and rehabilitation.
With the passage of the proposed bill lowering the age of criminal liability to 12 years old, CSSDO Preschoolers and Children's Protection Youth Division head Gina Molon said that the city lacked the facility to accommodate more children.
"Nahirapan kami kasi kung ipababa ang age, kulang man tayo sa facilities. Maganda ang BPA sa Davao City but still hindi pa siya pasok sa ideal natin na BPA," Molon said.
"Ang facility pa lang daan kulang na and for sure mas daghan pa ang mapasok sa BPA with the bill (The facility is already lacking, much more with the passage of the bill)," she added.
Molon also pointed out that even if the city is one of the cities which has the most number of social workers, it is still ideally lacking.
The tools used by the CSSDO for discernment and transformation were researches and studies designed for 15-year-old children.
With the lowering of age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old, Molon said that it may take a long time to design and study another tool to be used.
"Dapat dagdagan ang mga social workers, dakuan ang BPA, ipalawak pa ang mga programs which implies bigger budget gyud (The government should hire more social workers, bigger BPA, widen programs for children which implies bigger budget)," Molon said.