"Minors who commit criminal acts should undergo rehabilitation instead of being subjected to the harsh conditions of prison life," Puno told BJMP Director Arturo Alit.
Puno said he has ordered the BJMP to work with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in drawing up a plan that would provide basic education or vocational training for children in jail.
Puno directed BJMP officials to closely coordinate with the DSWD to expedite the implementation of measures that would stop the practice of mixing juvenile offenders with adult inmates.
He also ordered jail officials to draw up a comprehensive blueprint that would address the problem of overcrowding and poor living conditions in jails nationwide.
"Even before I took over as DILG secretary, I have already committed to put on my priority list the problems of jail congestion and the terrible practice of mixing juvenile offenders with hardened criminals inside crowded prisons," he said.
Puno said these problems should be immediately resolved.
"Juvenile offenders in particular, should be spared from the harsh conditions of prison life," he said. "Lumping minors with hardened criminals adversely affects their emotional, social and psychological well-being."
BJMP data show there are 1,569 youth offenders, or children in conflict with the law (CICLs) locked up in city, district and municipal jails as of last January.
This figure does not include minors in DSWD detention centers, provincial jails, PNP lockups and the National Penitentiary in Muntinlupa.
The BJMP has so far transferred a total of 520 CICLs to various youth homes across the country.
These include 182 juvenile offenders transferred to the Molave Youth Home in Quezon City; 195 housed at the Bahay Kanlungan ng Kalakhang Maynila; 123 at the Operation Second Chance Center in Cebu City and 20 at the Juvenile Welfare Unit in Davao City.
BJMP records showed most of these offenders were charged with minor crimes such as petty theft, sniffing of glue or solvents, vagrancy and violation of curfew hours. — Cecille Suerte Felipe