Separate detention centers sought for youth offenders

Youth offenders should have detention centers separate from hardened criminals to hasten their rehabilitation, Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta said yesterday.

"The government’s goal should be the rehabilitation of youthful offenders instead of their punishment to allow them to reform their ways and return to the mainstream of society," she said.

Oreta has filed a proposed Juvenile Justice System Act, which seeks to establish detention facilities for youthful offenders separate from adults.

Her bill also provides that female offenders be handled exclusively by female doctors and social workers.

Another key feature of her bill seeks to keep the criminal records of minors confidential and to maintain a separate police blotter for crimes committed by juvenile offenders.

The measure increases the age of criminal responsibility from nine to 12. She said this recommendation is fully supported by studies conducted by government agencies and independent institutions.

She earlier cited studies of the Department of Social Welfare and Development showing that more than 10,000 youth offenders aged nine to 18, are charged in court for serious crimes such as rape and murder.

The studies also show that most of these offenders come from poor families in urban areas, whose poverty had driven them to a life of delinquency and crime.

Oreta stressed the urgency of passing her bill following reports that seven minors are languishing in death row.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, in lambasting President Arroyo’s turnaround on the execution of capital offenders, pointed out that seven of those awaiting execution are under 18 years old.

"The speedy passage of this bill will correct the anomaly of minors being made to languish in jail along with hardened adult criminals," Oreta said.

"Most of the these children do not even know the extent and impact of the crimes they had committed," she added.

She also urged the creation of an Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention under the Department of Justice to oversee the implementation of the proposed act. — Efren Danao