MISAMIS Oriental ranks first among provinces with the highest number of cases of children in conflict with the law or CICL, according to a recent survey report of the Regional Juvenile Justice and Welfare Committee (RJJWC).
From January to September 2016 survey of RJJWC, 681 CICL cases were filed within the region where 354 of which are from Misamis Oriental. Bukidnon ranks second with 213 CICL cases while Misamis Occidental, third with 51 cases.
Theft is considered to be the most common crime committed by children in the region followed by physical injuries. Other most common cases filed are drug-related violations or the violation of Republic Act (RA) 9165, attempted rape, arson, and unlawful acquisition or possession of firearms and ammunition, Hazelyn Barrero of RJJWC said.
The RJJWC, however, noted there was a decrease of about 26 percent on the number of CICL cases in the region from the 918 tally which were filed on 2015.
Melanie Ortiz-Rosete, the retainer lawyer of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said though this might not be that the minors lessened their involvement with crimes. It can also be an effect of the amendment of the RA 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Act by former Senator Francis Pangilinan.
“As we all know, before the proposal of Pangilinan was approved last year, children who are 9 years old and below are exempt from criminal liability, but then now, children up to 15 years old can be exempt from liability. Because of that, our tally lessened from 918 of 2015 down to the 619 cases of 2016,” Rosete said.
Rosemarie Conde of DSWD said according to their profiling, children in conflict with the law are usually males who have low educational attainment, belongs to large, low-earning families and those who are part of broken or dysfunctional families.
She also said the lack of parental guidance and peer pressure are large factors to the fact that these children usually are users of illegal drugs and alcohol.
“The rise in the number of these CICL cases prompts the DSWD to initiate community rehabilitation programs to tackle not only the problems of the child but also to fix whatever societal problems he or she might be facing,” Conde said.
DSWD reported by next year, a number of Bahay Pag-asa or child rehabilitation centers are to be proposed and funded by the central government to be built all over the region.