DILG transfers juvenile offenders to new facility

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno has ordered the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to transfer children in conflict with the law (CICL) to a newly constructed facility in Taguig City to save them from the influence of hardened criminals.

"I have already ordered the BJMP to transfer all CICL still detained in city and municipal jails all over Metro Manila to the youth facility in Bicutan," Puno said.

The youth facility at Camp Bagong Diwa looks nothing like a jail or detention center.

"This new home for juvenile offenders looks more like a school, with colorful murals on its walls and spacious dormitories for its occupants," Puno said.

The DILG chief ordered the speedy renovation of the Camp Bagong Diwa facility in compliance with Republic Act 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, the law mandating the transfer of offenders who are 15 years and one day to 18 years of age to such youth homes and the immediate release to parents, close relatives or other guardians of those who are 15 years of age and below.

Instead of jail wardens, Puno said, guardians fondly called "tatay" or "nanay" supervise the CICL at the youth home.

These guardians are actually social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the agency tasked to oversee the counseling of CICL under RA 9344.

Puno also announced that two new jails for those facing drug-related charges in Laguna and Cebu will be fully operational soon.

He said the construction of the new city jails is in line with the government effort to improve the conditions of inmates and address the worsening problem of overcrowding in jails.

The three new facilities under the administration of the BJMP were built with the help of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), which provided a P100-million support fund.

They were constructed on orders of President Arroyo as part of her commitment to improve the conditions of the country’s jails and rehabilitate juvenile offenders to help them become productive members of society.

"The two new jails in Laguna and Cebu are expected to help decongest district, municipal and city jails in these provinces, because each of these four-storey facilities can conveniently accommodate up to 900 inmates," Puno added.

Citing a report submitted by Chief Superintendent Antonio Cruz, who is currently in charge of the BJMP, Puno said the new jail located in Barangay Turbina in Calamba City is now 95 percent complete.

The city jail in Barangay Kalunasan in Cebu City is 40 percent complete and is expected to be finished by September this year.

The CICL facility in Bicutan is now home to an initial 268 juvenile offenders while the Calamba jail now houses 468 inmates, who were transferred there last June 10 from the Biñan and San Pedro municipal jails and the old Calamba City Jail. Puno said that once the new Cebu City jail is fully operational, all inmates facing drug-related charges at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center will be transferred to the new facility.