Puno wants cases of RP’s juveniles assessed

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno has ordered provincial jail wardens nationwide to conduct a comprehensive listing of all cases involving Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL), in line with Malacañang efforts to speed up the release of these minors from detention as mandated by the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

In a memorandum, Puno also called on governors and regional directors of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to submit these inventories of cases involving CICLs to the Department of the Interior and Local Government regional offices in their respective provinces within a week upon receiving a copy of his new directive.

"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, concurrent chairman of the National Police Commission (Napolcom), said in his memo.

Puno added in his memo that, "The Department, as a member of the Juvenile Justice Welfare Council (JJWC) created under the said law, has been tasked to assist in the inventory of those CICL in provincial jails and PNP detention cells."

Sign into law by President Arroyo last April 28, Republic Act 9344 mandates the immediate release of CICL from detention, but requires them to undergo diversion programs like counseling, capacity building, training and socio-civic work under the supervision of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

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 for their swift rehabilitation and reintegration into mainstream society following their release from jail.

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 or the commission of the offense.

He said this inventory 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.