THE provincial social welfare office in Misamis Oriental is among those who opposed the move of the House of Representatives to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR).
Jhunleymar Abella, acting head of the capitol's social welfare and development office, said the Regional Juvenile Justice Welfare Committee (RJJWC) has already forwarded its letter of opposition to Congress after it launched the signature campaign last year.
Abella said the government should fully implement first the juvenile justice system act or Republic Act (RA) 1063 before making any amendment.
“The take of PSWD being under the RJJWC our stand is we are no to the lowering of MACR. We are for the full implementation of RA 10630 kay wala pa na fully na-implement i-amend na pud,” he said.
In the letter of opposition, Abella said the RJJWC has emphasized its assessment that the thinking of children are not yet fully mature unless they reach the age of 21, especially for males.
He said social workers also believe that institution should be the last resort for CICL because various interventions can be done with concerned stakeholders in the community.
“Last resort na gyud ang institution kay kung gusto nato tabangan ang mga bata naa man ang community. Nabalaka pud ta sa stigma nga paggawas sa institution ingnon dayon nga gikan mana siya sa rehab,” Abella said.
He said the challenge for the province should lawmakers push through with the lowering of MACR is the rehabilitation centers for children in conflict with the law (CICL).
“Kung i-lower na siya ambot aha kaha nato ibutang ang ubang mga bata,” Abella added.
He said the province only has one “Bahay Pagasa” for CICL which is located in Claveria town.
At present, the said Bahay Pagasa, which is exclusive for boys, is catering some 13 CICL. The youngest is 12 years old and is facing murder case, others are mostly involved in theft incidents.
Abella assured that CICL are going through the proper rehabilitation process within six months to one year. The facility has on-call interdisciplinary team composed of social workers, psychologist and house parents.