Local government units' role in kids' development cited

CEBU - Local government units play an important role in the development of children, including children who are at high risk and children in conflict with the law, especially in their rehabilitation and integration into the mainstream society, said an official of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

DILG Undersecretary for Special Concerns Joselito Ruiz recently emphasized that the implementation of the law that protects the rights of CICLs and ensures that in all interventions done the best interest of a child should be among the LGUs prime consideration.

Ruiz said there is a need for LGUs to implement the law in their respective localities and be part of the total efforts of government to provide CICLs with opportunity and chance to reform and be reintegrated into their families and communities as productive members of society.

Ruiz is the DILG representative and head of the secretariat to the Juvenile Justice Welfare Council (JJWC).

According to him, CICLs are victims of circumstances beyond their control and they should be treated as individuals with problems who need help for them to move on.

“Through the JJWA, these children are ensured of the full protection of their rights to survival, protection, development and participation in society, and these are best realized through the LGUs,” Ruiz said.

Instead of condemning these children for the offenses they commit, he said that as members of society, something concrete should be done to make them part of nation-building.

“The constitution recognizes the role of the children and youth in nation building and it is the duty of the state to protect and promote their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well-being,” he stressed.

Ruiz said that they have lined up seminars for members of the Philippine National Police, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and other concerned agencies tasked to implement Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Act so they will know their respective roles.

The law defines child as a person under the age of 18 years old while CAR refers to a child who is vulnerable to and at the risk of committing criminal offenses because of personal, family and social circumstances as being abused, exploited, abandoned or neglected, from a broken family, without parents or guard, out of school, or a street child. On the other hand, CICL refers to a child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an offense under Philippine laws. — Garry B. Lao/WAB (THE FREEMAN)