The Regional Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (RJJWC) marks 10th year of passage of Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 this month of May.
A decade of ensuring the protection of children in conflict with the law was the highlight of the 10th year observance of the passage of the said law.
“We are celebrating a decade of milestones in terms of promotion of the welfare of children at risk (CAR) and children in conflict with the law (CICL) since the passage of the law which established a comprehensive juvenile justice system in the Philippines,” said DSWD Field Office 02 Protective Services Unit Head, Ms. Lucia S. Alan.
One of these milestones, she mentioned, was the establishment of Bahay Pag-asa in cities or municipalities with high incidence of CICLs and CAR.
Bahay Pag-Asa is a 24-hour child caring institution established, funded and managed by local government units (LGUs)and licensed and/or accredited non-government organizations (NGOs) providing short-term residential care for children in conflict with the law who are above fifteen (15) but below eighteen (18) years of age who are awaiting court disposition of their cases or transfer to other agencies or jurisdiction.
“At the Bahay Pag-asa, CICLs will be provided with comprehensive and effective juvenile intervention program and we hope that through this intervention program, we can reduce, if not address the involvement of children in crimes,” added Ms. Alan.
Likewise, the Council and its partner agencies, did the rounds of jail visits in the region, information dissemination and advocacy in various media outfits in the region and a visit to Bahay Pag-asa in Sitio Manalpaac, Cauayan City, Isabela. ### By: Gela Flor R. Perez, Regional Information Officer II