City social welfare officer Cathy Yso, in an interview with The FREEMAN yesterday, said the office is speeding up the release of minor offenders who are 15 years old and below as mandated by the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act signed into law last April 28.
Yso said that before their release, these minor offenders will be required to undergo diversion programs like counseling, capacity building, training and socio-civic work under the supervision of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
Youth offenders who are 15 to 18 years old can be criminally charged only if they are found to have committed the crime with discernment, she said.
A memorandum issued by DILG Sec. Ronaldo Puno stated that, "one of the immediate requirements to facilitate compliance to the law is the inventory of CICL nationwide so that their individual cases can be assessed to facilitate their release from detention."
Puno added: "the Department, as a member of the Juvenile Justice Welfare Council created under the said law, has been tasked to assist in the inventory of those CICL in provincial jails and PNP detention cells."
Puno is a principal proponent of the "restorative justice" approach that seeks to allow inmates, most especially those who are neither hardcore criminals nor recidivists, to lead productive lives even behind bars, and to clear the way to their swift rehabilitation and reintegration into mainstream society following their release.
In his latest memo, Puno said the inventory of CICL cases should include the gender and present age of each detained minor, the name and address of his or her parents and guardians, date of birth, date of the commission of the offense for which he or she has been charged with, and the age at the time of the commission of the offense.
The inventory report should also include the status of each case and its case number, the court where the case was filed, the legal counsels involved, the date and place of the crime, and the offender's highest educational attainment.
The DILG instructed regional directors of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to prepare for the eventual release of all CICL to the DSWD, pending the release of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act 9344.
Once the IRR of the law is in place, 1,561 minors detained in BJMP-supervised facilities nationwide would either be released to their parents or guardians, or turned over to the DSWD, Puno said.
BJMP data revealed that there were 1,486 male and 75 female CICL detained as of April this year in various BJMP-supervised facilities nationwide. They are still waiting for their release pending the effectivity of the IRR covering RA 9344. - Garry B. Lao