Minors at BBRC to be moved to Operation Second Chance

Seven minor detainees who are mixed with adult offenders at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center may soon be transferred to the Operation Second Chance in barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City.

Lawyer Alex Tolentino, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Cebu City chapter, is scheduled to file motions before the courts for the transfer of these juvenile offenders to the city-owned jail facility for minors.

Tolentino has gathered proof, through pictures, that adult offenders abused the seven minor detainees by drawing tattoos on the different parts of their bodies.

One of the pictures presented by Tolentino at the IBP office yesterday showed that a boy had tattoos of a woman and the word "JunCab" emblazoned on his back.

"Pait kaayo ang kahimtang sa maong mga minor detainees kay gihimong blackboard ang ilang buko-buko ug ubang parte sa lawas. Kon tua pa sila sa Kalunasan, dili tingali kini mahitabo kanila," said Tolentino.

One of the seven minor detainees, a 14-year-old boy, was charged for violating Presidential Decree 1619 or the volatile substance law that only requires a P500 bail bond for his temporary liberty.

But his parents or relatives failed to put up the required bail bond so that the boy was detained in jail.

Also, Tolentino wondered why the boy was committed at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center despite the fact that the city has a detention facility for minors. - Rene U. Borromeo