Caloocan: 69% of rescued streetkids are lawbreakers

MANILA, Philippines - More than 60 percent of children taken off the streets in Caloocan City over the past five months are in conflict with the law, the city government said yesterday.

The Caloocan social welfare office reported that of the 251 minors rescued from January to May, 156 of them – 69 percent – are lawbreakers. Citing official records, Mayor Enrico Echiverri said most of the rescued children were involved in street crimes such as robbery, illegal gambling, theft, snatching, physical injury and rape.

Echiverri believes that these children committed crimes because they lacked proper guidance from their parents, teachers and community leaders.

A local social worker earlier blamed the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, authored by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, for encouraging minors to commit crimes. She said children between 15 and 17 years old can already discern right from wrong, and that many of these streetchildren are being exploited by gangs since they could not be held liable for the crimes they commit.

Under the juvenile justice law, children below 18 who have committed crimes have no liability and may not be incarcerated.

Echiverri said the number of children expected to be taken off the streets is expected to rise because of the city government’s intensified campaign.

He said the 251 children were taken to the Yakap Bata Holding Center beside the city hall to undergo counseling since some of them were abused by their parents, suffer from mental illness or were forced into prostitution. Only 82 children remain at the YBHC since some of them were transferred to the Tahanang Mapagpala and Tahanang Mapagkalinga rehabilitation centers while some have been sent home. – With Pete Laude