The Case of 25 CICL in Jail
In a meeting of the Juvenile Justice Network in Barangay Fatima in 2011, 25 minors were found in the city jail held by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP). At Pasali’s recommendation, members of City Council for the Protection of Children immediately conducted an ocular visit and assessment. Nearly all of them were minors when convicted of non-serious offense and imprisoned for years without due process of law.
Living & Health Conditions
Their detainment cells were so small that the minor inmates slept on the floor without a bed or blanket. Others were mixed with adult inmates, vulnerable to abuse and at risk of learning and adopting higher form of criminal behavior. Ill inmates received little medical attention. Government-led numeracy and literacy and other learning sessions were halted when the learners gradually lost the motivation to attend.
Action and Developments
The CCPC intervened with legal action through the Fiscal’s Office. Three cases were dismissed and the rest transferred to the Family Court. And with the City Department of Social Welfare and Development, the youth gained access to:
a. Para-legal services to CICL both in children committed to City Jail and at the processing center;
b. Community-based services for the family (dialogue, basic material and financial assistance);
c. Counseling & psychosocial sessions;
d. an assigned social worker for each CICL and
e. psychological and psychiatric evaluation.
Subsequently, the CCPC worked to transfer the remaining CICL to the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth in Tupi, South Cotabato. Partner NGO and CCPC co-member the Marcelin Foundation submitted a Manifestation Letter to the City Government for endorsement of 13 CICL from city jail to their institution.
Since then the city-government began to determine the establishment of the Rehabilitation Center for Children and Youth. The Bureau of Jail Management also strengthened its services for the imprisoned CICL. They now allot an exclusive detention cell, provide occupational therapy sessions like gardening, and medical and dental care for the minors. The CCPC and the JJN continues to campaign for ‘zero child in jail’.
Living & Health Conditions
Their detainment cells were so small that the minor inmates slept on the floor without a bed or blanket. Others were mixed with adult inmates, vulnerable to abuse and at risk of learning and adopting higher form of criminal behavior. Ill inmates received little medical attention. Government-led numeracy and literacy and other learning sessions were halted when the learners gradually lost the motivation to attend.
Action and Developments
The CCPC intervened with legal action through the Fiscal’s Office. Three cases were dismissed and the rest transferred to the Family Court. And with the City Department of Social Welfare and Development, the youth gained access to:
a. Para-legal services to CICL both in children committed to City Jail and at the processing center;
b. Community-based services for the family (dialogue, basic material and financial assistance);
c. Counseling & psychosocial sessions;
d. an assigned social worker for each CICL and
e. psychological and psychiatric evaluation.
Subsequently, the CCPC worked to transfer the remaining CICL to the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth in Tupi, South Cotabato. Partner NGO and CCPC co-member the Marcelin Foundation submitted a Manifestation Letter to the City Government for endorsement of 13 CICL from city jail to their institution.
Since then the city-government began to determine the establishment of the Rehabilitation Center for Children and Youth. The Bureau of Jail Management also strengthened its services for the imprisoned CICL. They now allot an exclusive detention cell, provide occupational therapy sessions like gardening, and medical and dental care for the minors. The CCPC and the JJN continues to campaign for ‘zero child in jail’.
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