1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Problem

In developing countries like the Philippines, the reality contradicts what the law is
describing. In the Philippines, the individual is blamed for his wrongdoings. And yet not much is
done by the state to correct structural inequality of the classes, overpopulation and the corruption
of politicians and the judiciary. No drastic changes are being made by the state for the betterment
of the individual, so the status quo remains.

If the state is not prepared to help juvenile delinquents surely the crime rate will rise, because
they are learning from the adults in the prison. The solution to the problem of controlling
juvenile delinquency is not incarceration but good education and vocational training thus
emphasizing prevention and rehabilitation. When we are dealing with children in conflict with
the law, we are dealing with children who had a bad start in life with circumstances and
experiences very difficult to accept. The state has the obligation according to articles 4 of the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to protect all children and to translate all
rights in the Convention into reality. So when we are talking about children in conflict with the
law we are not only appealing to articles 37, 39 and 40, but to all articles of this Convention.

Now the main legal protection for underprivileged youth is implemented in the Philippines, the
Government of this country has the obligation to show the world its role as a true protector of
human rights. A constructive social policy for all young people will help in the prevention of
juvenile delinquency with emphasis on free education. Many who are abandoned, neglected,
abused, exposed to drug abuse are in marginal circumstances and are in general at social
risk. The increasingly high rates of juvenile delinquency are a great problem in modern society.
Moreover, the existing laws governing such issue.

Under Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, young
criminals aged 15 years old and below should not be imprisoned or punished even if they commit
a heinous crime.

We generally see criminals as gruesome adults, but the increasing numbers of minors getting
involved in this kind of wrongdoings can be considered a disturbing matter that the government
has to take seriously. Misguided and problematic, these minors lurk in the darkest streets to carry
out their unlawful plans.
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Often associated with gangs, they actually provide inconvenient way of living in the community.
Conversely, the community they live in unknowingly influenced them to be these so called
‘Juvenile Delinquents’.

The term juvenile delinquency refers to the criminal acts performed by juveniles or the youths,
thus calling them juvenile delinquents. It is also the legal term for criminal behavior carried out
by minors recognized for having problematic behavior.

Juvenile Delinquency can actually be traced in the early times, where governments all over the
world have these poor laws that gave the youth much freedom, while some began as a form of
youth rebellion. It was just then that authorities became aware and attended to this issue.

Most of the time, felonious activities are usually done in a group setting, acquiring help from
their own gangs or tribes. In the country, gangs would do illicit acts that would make their group
famous.

An example of it is the ‘gang wars’ or a riot, usually done at late night, two or more groups will
fight each other to see who’s the superior gang. They throw rocks or bottles at their rivals; while
some use deadly weapons like knives and ice picks for the sake of hurting. These riots surely
disturb the whole neighborhood in which the fight is occurring. It is even more dangerous for
civilian people who just happened to be around at that place. The whole community would then
be disturbed for the people there are scared going out at night. A gang called ‘TBS’ made its
name infamous by causing much trouble in major cities and towns over the country.

Not just in riots these juvenile delinquents are known for. Most of them had actually committed
crimes that an adult would do. According to UNICEF, an average of 10, 500 minors are being
arrested and detained every year – about 28 children every day, or more than one child every
hour. Report on 2003 stated that seven children were in Death Row, and 200 children in the
Medium Security Unit of the National Bilibid Prisons.

It is a sad fact juveniles are arrested for using or pushing drugs which then breeds to other forms
of crimes such as rape, murder, and homicide. It is even more alarming to know that poverty has
driven most of the minors detained to commit crime. At the Molave Youth Home in Quezon City
74 children of the 159 detainees are facing trial for crimes against poverty (39 accused of theft
and 34 of robbery). Records dating back to 1990 collected by the Quezon City government
reveal expose that poverty is the common origin of a great majority of children in jail. Another
data show that 7 in every 10 children detained at the Molave Youth Home in 2002 belonged to
families having a monthly income of 2,000-4,000 pesos.
 3

We might say that this issue is not bigger than the economic crisis we are experiencing
right now, but to think that these delinquents are just disoriented youths, it’s actually unfair. A
youth, for the sake of being a part of something that could protect him will join a gang and throw
chaos to the society that rejects him; a youth, who just wants to prove something will be a rebel
to his family; a youth, who just wants to escape his miserable life will do foolish crimes; an
innocent youth yet dangerous; a naive youth yet matured; a youth supposed to study at school,
expected to be the next leader, an asset turned liability of our society…it is unfair.

This calls for the help of the whole society to be in charge for the guidance of these future
generations. A range of community based schemes for the diversion of children away from
committing crimes can be conducted. This includes community care, guidance, counseling foster
care and training, social activities, and community development. These are just few of the
possible ways of helping the juveniles. Simple but effective!

The government might also want to amend the law with regards to Comprehensive Juvenile
Justice. It must raise the age of criminal responsibility from nine to twelve years old, which
means that a child 12 years old or under at the time of his offense shall be exempt from criminal
liability. With this, there will be more children that can undergo into guidance and counseling
while also receiving care and protection. It must also prohibit the detention of children with
adults unless a family member to prevent physical, sexual, and psychological harm. Local
government units must also help in developing and implementing campaigns for delinquency
prevention which includes counseling of families so that parent will be aware on how their
children grow and develop. Youth on the other hand must also know their responsibilities as
citizens of the country. This is where education takes place. Education aids the youth in
developing all the aspects in their lives and with proper education, they will be more likely to be
productive members of the society.

Poverty, which is considered to be the roots of all problems and issues in the country, may not be
eradicated easily. So, I can say that, when there is poverty, there would still be juvenile
delinquents prowling all over the city. The least we can do is to lessen their increasing population
by, of course, implementing those schemes.

“It does take a village to raise a child”. Juvenile Delinquents are misled youths whom has made
wrong choices in their lives which was influenced by the society itself, and the only way to
reverse it is to raise these youths and model them into better persons. This is when we can see
their true potentials.
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Under the law, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is required
to determine whether a youth offender aged between 16 and 18 acted with discernment. If the
DSWD establishes that the youth offender acted without discernment, he or she is put under the
care of the department for “diversion” or “intervention”.

If the crime was done with discernment, the youth offender is referred to the prosecutor or judge.
Theoretically, this emboldens them to be more aggressive and commit more crimes because they
know that when they are apprehended, they will not be jailed anyway.

The factors which go to make up these difficult situations, together with the mental and physical
conditions which influence an individual's capacity to adjust, constitute the causes of
delinquency. Since the human civilization, crime has been one of the dominant problem which
occurs when someone breaks the law by an explicit act, omission or neglect that can result in
punishment. A child is born innocent, but due to the unhealthy environment, negligence of the
basic necessities and wrong company, a child may turn into a delinquent. Usually somebody has
to have intent to break the law in order to commit a crime, but that is not always the case. A
person can be charged with a crime even if that person doesn’t know the law even exists.

The phrase “ignorance of the law is no exception” means that a person can be held responsible
even when he or she break a law which they don’t know. Therefore, juveniles, given the benefit
of doubt regarding ignorance of law, are generally treated differently in the criminal justice
system. A crime can be defined as a harmful act or omission against the public which the state
wishes to prevent and which, upon conviction, is punishable with a fine, imprisonment, and/or
death. No conduct constitutes a crime unless it is declared as criminal in the laws of the country.
Some crimes such as theft or criminal damage may be civil wrongs for which the victim may
claim damages in compensation. Delinquent and criminal behaviour may abound among young
people, as they negotiate the transition from childhood to adulthood in an increasingly complex
and confusing world. A child is a part of the society in which he lives and the social relations that
ensure a smooth process of socialization are collapsing. The traditional patterns of relationships
guiding transitions between the family, school, and work are collapsing now-a-days for many
young people. Lifestyle is becoming more varied and less predictable.

Nowadays many youths regardless of gender, social origin, are subject to individual risks. Each
juvenile offense is the outcome of a complexity of causes, some of whose origins date back years
before the committal of the offense and others whose origins are more obviously and
immediately connected with the act of delinquency. To consistently apply a law to ever-changing
situation is illogical and at the same time detrimental.

Hence, this proposal to provide a continuously adaptive system that is germane to entirely
transformed members of the juvenile society.
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Objectives of the Study

In general, the project aims to establish the situation of children in conflict with the law within
the context of the criminal justice system and identify the major gaps and abuses that occur
within the system. Specifically, the project aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. Generate and analyse the following quantitative data on the situation of children in conflict
with the law:
a. Number of children arrested;
b. Arresting officers;
c. Sex of children arrested;
d. Type of offences committed;
e. Number of repeat offenders;
f. Number of children in custody;
g. Number of cases the police sent to the prosecutor;
h. Number of cases the prosecutor filed in courts;
i. Number of cases the court sentenced; j. Length of sentence;
k. Period of detention pending trial;
l. Disposition measures practiced by the prosecutors and courts;
m. Whether children’s cases are heard separately from adults;
n. Number of children sent for mediation;
o. Whether children are separated from adults in police cells; and
p. Other relevant information.

2. Generate and analyse qualitative data on the situation of CICL;

3. Describe the processes in administering children’s justice at the five pillars of the criminal
justice system;

4. Establish the various stages in the justice system CICL are in;

5. Understand better the impact of the criminal justice system by seeking the views of children
who have been directly affected by it;

6. Establish trends in offences committed by CICL at least two years backward; and

7. Recommend ways by which SC-UK and the partners can most strategically assist in
sustainably diverting children from the criminal justice system.
 6

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The project covered the following cities in Metro Manila: Caloocan, Pasay, Manila,
Parañaque and Quezon City. The cities were chosen based on the high incidence of children
arrested in such areas; the number of family courts in the cities; and the existence of
nongovernmental organisations working with CICL.

In each city, the researchers visited barangays, police stations and police community precincts,
family courts, office of public prosecutors and public defenders, Parole and Probation Office, the
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), the City Social Welfare Office (CSWO), and
city jails and youth detention centres to conduct interviews with representatives of the five
pillars. For the interviews, children detained in the National Training School for Boys in Tanay
and Marillac Hills in Alabang were also included. However, court records were limited to cases
filed from 2005 to 2008 on children in conflict with the law. The information gathered were
limited by the following factors: case has just been filed and records were limited; incomplete
court records; lack of case studies; and not all court records were given to the researchers.

Definition of Terms

1. A contribution to scientific knowledge: Due to the international commonality of juvenile

delinquency, the entire scientific world can benefit from the research and intervention being
carried out at BLC.

2. A “repeater” due to truancy: Truancy is being late or absent from school.

3. A “repeater” is a student who fails to graduate from a grade level, due to missing too many
days of school, either through sickness or neglect of attending in a regular basis.

4. Bending the law: The occurrence when a child breaks the law, but in his own mind he feels
that, by not harming another individual, the crime is victimless and therefore he is not at
fault.

5. Breaking the law: When a child practices petty theft, while the crime does not cause deep
hardship to the victim, it nonetheless is still a crime and must be treated as such.

6. Characteristics that predispose these children to delinquency: Delinquency is sometimes

anticipated in the near (or distant) future when a juvenile begins to show traits that are
common in incarcerated criminals. Sometimes these traits are caused by himself, and at other
times they are related to his environment.
 7

7. Child at risk: A child enrolled at BLC who scores 10% and up on the CARR. Child in
Conflict with the Law: A child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having
committed an offense under Philippine laws.

8. Children: As defined in Article 1 of the CRC, those under the age of 18 unless domestic law
sets a lower age of majority.

9. Congress: Republic of the Philippines Congress of the Philippines in Metro Manila

10. Court: A family court or, in places where there are no family courts, any regional trial court.

11. Deprivation of Liberty: Any form of detention or imprisonment, or to the placement of a

child in conflict with the law in a public or private custodial setting, from which the child in
conflict with the law is not permitted to leave at will by order of any judicial or
administrative authority.

12. Dimension of Danger: To determine the internal balance of this child, the RUBICS tool
places each of the child's strong and weak points into one of the child's categorical
dimensions. If any dimension carries more negative than positive traits, it is considered a
dimension of danger.

13. Discernment: A level of intellectual maturity including the ability to distinguish 'right from
wrong'

14. Diversion: An alternative, child-appropriate process of determining the responsibility and

treatment of a child in conflict with the law on the basis of his/her social, cultural, economic,
psychological or educational background without resorting to formal court proceedings.

15. Diversion Program: The program that the child in conflict with the law is required to undergo
after he/she is found responsible for an offense without resorting to formal court proceedings.

16. Initial Contact With the Child: The apprehension or taking into custody of a child in conflict
with the law by law enforcement officers or private citizens. It includes the time when the
child alleged to be in conflict with the law receives a subpoena under Section 3(b) of Rule
112 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure or summons under Section 6(a) or Section
9(b) of the same Rule in cases that do not require preliminary investigation or where there is
no necessity to place the child alleged to be in conflict with the law under immediate custody.
 8

17. Intervention: A series of activities which are designed to address issues that caused the child
to commit an offense. It may take the form of an individualized treatment program which
may include counseling, skills training, education, and other activities that will enhance
his/her psychological, emotional and psycho-social well-being.

18. Justice and Welfare System: Refers to a system dealing with children at risk and children in
conflict with the law, which provides child-appropriate proceedings, including programs and
services for prevention, diversion, rehabilitation, re-integration and aftercare to ensure their
normal growth and development.

19. Law Enforcement Officer: The person in authority or his/her agent as defined in Article 152
of the Revised Penal Code, including a barangay tanod.

20. Nature theories: Nature theories rely mainly on biochemical, genetic and gender factors to
explain juvenile delinquency. In BLC it is understood that it is not solely natural influences,
but nurtural ones as well which predetermine the fate of the child.

21. Nurture theories: Rather than focus on biochemical, genetic and gender factors to explain
juvenile delinquency, nurture theories rely on the upbringing and environment of the child.

22. Offense: Any act or omission whether punishable under special laws or the Revised Penal
Code, as amended.

23. Personal strategies of the children: Each child has his own unique subconscious or conscious
plan for life and a scheme of how to bring it about.

24. Physical or genetic make-up: These two factors strongly determine the natural analysis of the
child's CARR. However, it is not complete without the nurtural analysis.

25. Predisposition is an invisible pull, through internal and/or external factors.

26. Recognizance: An undertaking in lieu of a bond assumed by a parent or custodian who shall
be responsible for the appearance in court of the child in conflict with the law, when required.

27. Restorative Justice: A principle which requires a process of resolving conflicts with the
maximum involvement of the victim, the offender and the community. It seeks to obtain
reparation for the victim; reconciliation of the offender, the offended and the community; and
reassurance to the offender that he/she can be reintegrated into society.
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28. Status Offenses: Offenses which discriminate only against a child, while an adult does not
suffer any penalty for committing similar acts. These shall include curfew violations; truancy,
parental disobedience and the like.

29. SWOT: Since each BLC child has strengths and weaknesses, it is important to see if there is
an internal balance in each child. By placing the child's life situation against the SWOT tool,
Internal, External, positives and negatives are itemized, for future use in the Rubics chart.

30. The Child’s Interest Level of Strategy: “Level” is a relative term. One is not to say whether a
child's interest level of strategy is high/moderate/low, but rather that the level of strategy is
“level”, as on a level plane. His goals are on the same level as his actions. If his actions and
his goals are not on the same level (not conclusive), then he will be frustrated at not being
able to achieve his goals. The instincts that are ingrained in the child through nature or
nurture, determine what interests he develops. Such interests determine his values, which in
turn determine his personal strategy. Since this particular strategy, being the art of devising or
employing plans or stratagems toward a goal, is due to the child's skillful stratagems like
watching a chess player plan his moves, we can carefully evaluate moves the juvenile makes
toward his goals.

31. The Child’s Personal Strategy: Each child develops a conscious or subconscious built-in
strategy for existence, which is directed at achieving conscious or subconscious goals.

32. Twisting the law: The occurrence when a child twists the law, but in his own mind he feels
that, by following an approved maxim (such as purchasing legal Rugby for illegal
intoxication), the latter justifies the former

33. Typical Filipino delinquent: Delinquents are not typical. They instead are the exception

34. Variables: (factors or concepts thought to be significant for human behavior, which varies
from one case to another) are the disciplinary files and records of BLC. They are measured
by the rate of occurrence and extremes of cases.

35. Victimless Crimes: Offenses where there is no private offended party.

36. Youth Detention Home: A 24-hour child-caring institution managed by accredited local
government units (LGUs) and licensed and/or accredited nongovernment organizations
(NGOs) providing short-term residential care for children in conflict with the law who are
awaiting court disposition of their cases or transfer to other agencies or jurisdiction.
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37. Youthful Offender: Under Philippine law: "over nine but under eighteen years of age at the
time the offense is committed (Article 189, PD 1179).

38. Youth Rehabilitation Center: A 24-hour residential care facility managed by the Department
of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), LGUs, licensed and/or accredited NGOs
monitored by the DSWD, which provides care, treatment and rehabilitation services for
children in conflict with the law. Rehabilitation services are provided under the guidance of a
trained staff where residents are cared for under a structured therapeutic environment with
the end view of reintegrating them into their families and communities as socially
functioning individuals. Physical mobility of residents of said centers may be restricted
pending court disposition of the charges against them.
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CHAPTER II

REVIEW RELATED LITERATURE

A. Related Studies

Situational Analysis on Children In Conflict with the Law and the Juvenile Justice System

Many national and local studies or reports have already been completed on the subject of
children in conflict with the law. The researchers for this report have very much acknowledged
their deep debt to the work already done and on which this report has built and we hope taken
forward. A major contribution was the study, Situational Analysis on Children In Conflict with
the Law and the Juvenile Justice System, conducted by the AKAP-AHRC (1998), which
contextualised the situation of CICL within the criminal justice system.

It reviewed the data and the findings of six studies (1993-1996) on CICL and their
treatment during arrest, detention, adjudication and post adjudication.
The studies are as follows:

1. The National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) Technical Committee on Crime

Prevention and Criminal Justice (1996), Survey of Non-Institutional Offenders at the National
Capital Region;

2. The Philippine Action for Youthful Offenders (PAYO, 1996), Youth in Detention:
Issues and Challenge; 232 CICL were interviewed in 18 key cities and it concluded that children
are trapped in institutions that are very punitive in character;

3. The National Council for Social Development (NCSD) Foundation of the Philippines
(1994), Children and Youth in Conflict with the Law: A Situational Analysis in Metro Manila,
Cebu City, Olongapo City and Baguio City; this looked particularly at the legal protection of
street children and CICL

4. The BCYW (Bureau of Children, Youth and Women)-DSWD and NAPOLCOM Crime
and Coordination Service (1993), Survey on Youth Offenders at Camp Sampaguita and
Correctional Institute for Women. The survey concluded that poverty is one of the causes of
juvenile delinquency. With respect to the criminal justice system, it concluded that:

• Law enforcers had no training in dealing with CICL during apprehension;

• The facilities in custody do not comply with international standards; and
• There is no rehabilitation programme for children while in confinement.
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THE EXPERIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES : A SUMMARY The 1998 AKAP-AHRC

The experience in the Philippines: A Summary: The 1998 AKAP-AHRC study confirmed that
most CICL are usually male, between the ages of 14 and 17, have low educational attainment,
are from low-income families and are middle or in-between children with about four to six sib-
lings. It had the following recommendations:

1. Law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, court social welfare officers, and public
attorneys should be given orientation seminars on international human rights instruments and
child-related laws with emphasis on juvenile justice.

2. Government agencies and institutions engaged in defending youthful offenders should

coordinate their efforts in providing protection to these children by establishing a common
monitoring system covering the various stages of the juvenile justice process.

3. Specialised juvenile and domestic relations courts should be created.

4. Support programmes for street children and other similarly vulnerable children should
be increased as preventive measures.

5. More facilities exclusively for children who are detained and sentenced should be
constructed to prevent mingling with adult offenders.

6. Community awareness of and involvement in non-institutional rehabilitation

programmes and services should be enhanced.

7. Non-governmental organisations engaged in multi-disciplinary outreach programmes

with children in conflict with the law should form a network to maximise extension of assistance
to these children.

8. A comprehensive review of existing laws and procedures on juvenile justice in light of

the CRC and other international standard-setting instruments affecting children in conflict with
the law (CICL) should be undertaken for purposes of law reform. Various studies have
established that many arrested children are either children on the streets or of the streets when
they were apprehended.

A study by Dr. Exaltacion Lamberte (1996), Today’s Metro Manila Street Children,
aimed to provide benchmark information about the life situations of street children in Metro
Manila, specifically, Manila, Pasay City, Quezon City and Mandaluyong City. The study
conducted face-to-face structured interviews with 700 sample street children.
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According to the study, the main deviant behaviours street children engaged in are
gambling, use of:

BREAKING RULES: Children in Conflict with the Law and the Juvenile Justice
Process 14 prohibited drugs, sexual behaviours and commission of illegal acts. The data
also showed that 52% had been previously arrested by the police, 70% in connection with
bagansiya (vagrancy5 ) or police raids.

The study also revealed that upon arrest, 30% of the children were punished by takal
(being beaten with a 2” x 2” piece of wood); 26% were asked to clean the precinct; 5% were
asked to give a massage to the police; and 2% were asked to give money to the police. A
participatory action research conducted by the Tambayan Center for the Care of Abused
Children, Inc. (2000) with street adolescents (113 children – 79 girls and 34 boys/young men)
underscored the vulnerability of street adolescents to police arrest. The majority (82%) of the
adolescent respondents claimed to stay in the streets day and night. In the evenings, the
adolescents would go to community discos and other outings, or engage in drug use, petty theft
and prostitution.

The main risk associated with staying in the streets was that of being arrested by abusive
law enforcers, which was the response of 44% of the respondents. Among the violations they
acknowledged were sniffing rugby, vagrancy, petty theft and going against the 10 p.m. curfew
imposed by the city. Second to peers (48%), law enforcers (38%) were usually tagged as the
perpetrators of abuse in the streets, owing to their rough treatment of and violence especially
towards male juveniles. In terms of meeting daily needs, a third of the respondents mentioned
petty crimes (such as picking pockets), prostitution and delihensiya (petty extortion) as a source.
The high prevalence of substance abuse was also noted (69%) and that it is often used as a
coping mechanism by children against hunger and boredom (Tambayan 2000).

Ortiz (2000) conducted a study on the discernment of out-of school children in Metro
Manila and found that the 300 respondents’ level of discernment is very low. He used Kohlberg’s
six stages of moral development as a framework.

According to the study, “Adherence to the existing laws, regulations and policies are not
the values or norms followed by the: Vagrancy is a minor offence committed in violation of a law
that prohibits moving about or wandering idly without lawful or visible means of support,
without a permanent home, and relying on begging. THE EXPERIENCE IN THE
PHILIPPINES: A SUMMARY. They do not clearly know what is right and what is wrong.”
 14

The discernment study found that even at the age of 18, out-of-school children
determined the rightness or wrongness of their actions on the satisfaction of their needs and that
of others. This has several implications on children’s accountability to crimes committed. Other
studies and the outcomes of workshops very much resonate the above findings and those of the
three studies being summarised in this consolidated report. In recent years, there has been a
significant increase in the number of crimes committed by juveniles and children. In the period
from 1986 to 1992, the DSWD reported 4,038 cases of various offenses committed by juveniles
in Metro Manila alone. At present, there are several theories that offer different factors that may
influence juvenile delinquency. These theories may be categorized into two main themes: nature
theories and nurture theories.” (Araneta-de Leon, p95)

According to Araneta-de Leon, the nature theories rely mainly on biochemical and gender
factors to explain juvenile delinquency. The biochemical perspective holds that there is
something inside the physical or genetic make-up of the person that makes him engage in
criminal acts.

Review of Family Court Cases

In order to establish trends in offences committed by children in the past two years, records of
active court cases filed in 2001 and 2002 on children in conflict with the law were examined.
Three hundred fifty cases in all the family courts covered by the project were included in the
research. Aside from the crimes filed in court, the personal and legal profiles of the children were
also gathered. In the course of the examination of court records, the researcher faced the
following challenges:

 Some of the cases did not have a case study by the court social worker. Hence, some of the
personal information, i.e., economic and educational profiles, were not available;

 Although the court personnel were generally accommodating, there were family courts that
limited the research period to only one hour per day; and

 The list of cases by several of the family courts did not indicate the age of the accused,
prolonging the research and making it more tedious.
 15

Other Documents Researches and Reviews

GATHERING OF CITY AND BARANGAY ORDINANCES

City and barangay laws and ordinances applicable to children in conflict with the law were also
collected and examined. The project collected available and relevant materials from the
respective city council and the respondent barangays. The project strived to collect all existing
laws. However, they were limited by the ability of government personnel to recall the existence
of applicable laws and the compilation of laws preserved by the appropriate offices.

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES

Socio-economic and psychological studies conducted in the Philippines on children in conflict
with the law were also summarised and reviewed. The materials were limited to the studies
conducted from 1980 onwards. Methods of Validation FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSIONS AND
CONSULTATIONS One focus group discussion (FGD) per pillar in the criminal justice system
was held to present the preliminary result, validate the results and solicit recommendations and
views. The discussions were conducted during the following dates:

 Court and Prosecution 14 November 2002

 Law Enforcement 21 November 2002
 Community 26 November 2002
 Correction and City Social Workers 10 December 2002
 Non-government organisations (NGOs) 12 December 2002

PLENARY PRESENTATION
A plenary presentation was held on 30 January 2003 from 2:30pm to 7pm at the Ateneo School
of Law, Rockwell Center, Makati City. The result of the project was presented based on the
interviews and research conducted. An open forum was scheduled after the presentation.
National, city and barangay officials and representatives from government agencies working
with CICL and NGOs attended the presentation.
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Summary of Related Studies

This chapter presents a summary of studies and researches involving CICL from 1980 onwards.
Some of the studies and researches were limited to specific cities in Metro Manila while others
had a nation-wide coverage. Different methodologies were employed, from face-to-face
interviews to survey of secondary data and case studies. Although there was a variance in the
objectives, there were commonalities among them as well. The studies presented a profile of the
children and recommendations were given to improve their situation through changes in laws
and programmes of the government or other stakeholders such as NGOs and research
institutions. The Division of Research and Law Reform of the University of the Philippines (UP)
Law Center conducted a Socio-Legal Research Project on Youthful Offenders from 1979 to
1981. Data from the project were gathered from the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts
(JDRCs) project, detention centres and jails in Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Pasay, Makati,
Pasig and Valenzuela. The 323 cases were categorised, coded and analysed.26 The following
data were gathered by the project:

 Sex;
 Civil status and family background of the children;
 Distribution of cases in JDRCs and regular courts;
 Whether children were detained before case was decided;
 Status of cases distributed per cities;
 Type of offences;
 Specific months the crimes were committed;
 Length of trial;
 Whether the child was a repeat offender;
 Medical attention given to children;
 Whether the child was provided with counsel at the time of arraignment;
 Whether the child committed offence by himself or with others; and
 Distribution of places where the offences were committed.

In 1983, a research project funded by the Law Research Council of the University of the
Philippines entitled Legal and Psychological Perspectives on Philippine Juvenile Delinquency
was published. The study was conducted by Salvador T. Carlota and Annadaisy J. Carlota with
the general objective to “…investigate the problem of juvenile delinquency in the Metro Manila
setting from the legal and psychological viewpoints.”
 17

Specifically, its objectives were to:

1) Critically analyse the law on juvenile delinquency;

2) Gather the latest available statistics on juvenile delinquency in the Metro Manila area
with respect to (a) certain demographic variables such as sex, age, socio-economic status, and the
like, (b) types of crimes committed, and (c) the length of time consumed in the disposition of
juvenile cases in the regular courts and the juvenile and domestic relations courts;
3) Investigate the differences in approach and procedure between the regular courts and
juvenile and domestic relations courts in trying juvenile cases;
4) Identify the probable psychological causes of juvenile delinquency;
5) Determine the intellectual and personality profiles of juvenile delinquents; and
6) Suggest criteria for the evaluation of the efficacy of treatment programmes of
rehabilitation centres.

Data were gathered through interviews of participant judges, children in conflict with the
law and personnel of rehabilitation centres. Forty seven male and 31 female children in conflict
with the law were included in the study. Included in the findings is the fact that judges are not
automatically informed of the child’s age and they learn of the age only upon personally asking
the child.30 The study also showed that there is a possibility of discriminatory treatment for
cases before the juvenile and domestic relations courts compared to those tried in regular courts,
with the differential treatment working against the child whose case was tried by the latter.

The authors recommended the following actions:

 A more systematic method of record keeping with respect to court records of children
in conflict with the law;
 Creation of a programme that incorporates systematic attempts to bring about
personality and attitudinal changes, specifically, in moral standards; emotional stability and self-
control, tolerance for frustration, and in self-concept;
 Conduct researches that will evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programmes in
rehabilitation centres; and
 Additional researches on the “prevention” of juvenile delinquency. In 1993, the
Department of Sociology of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) conducted a
descriptive study of the status and situation of children in conflict with the law. The roles of
different government agencies involved with the children were also included in the study. The
study, The Situation of Youthful Offenders in the Philippines, used the case study method and
covered nine children nationwide. The research project was commissioned by the Defense for
Children International-Philippine Section, with funds provided by the SC-UK. According to the
study, the most common feature among the nine children is their poor economic conditions under
which they came into conflict with the law.
 18

Aside from these conditions, the criminal justice system, which the children underwent,
also served as a challenge to these children. The study observed the following disparities
between the claims of the government institutions and the actual experiences of the children:

 Not one of the nine children was brought by the police to medical personnel for
physical examination, or to a psychologist for mental examination;
 The police were unaware that special treatment should be accorded to minors. They do
not even know that the DSWD should be notified;
 Some of the children were not formally charged with vagrancy by the arresting police
officers. The children were kept in jails for a number of days before they were released or
transferred to a Lingap Center for street children;
 Some of the children were physically abused by police officers even before the
children reached police headquarters and the prosecutor overlooked this;
 Court trial takes a long time;
 The detention centre does not function as a rehabilitation centre, but a place for
survival and a training ground for criminality;
 Programmes and services in youth rehabilitation centres, whether regional or local, are
inadequate, ie, in-house education that are not being implemented and insufficient medical and
dental services;
 Except for sportsfests, not one of the nine children covered have come across the
community-based programmes of the government; and

 The intervention of DSWD, while the children are going through the juvenile justice
system, is inadequate. The children’s cases only come to the attention of the DSWD after they
have been in jail for a number of days, or even weeks and months. The Bureau of Child and
Youth Welfare, DSWD and the National Police Commission Crime Prevention and Coordination
Service undertook a joint project entitled Survey on Youth Offenders at Camp Sampaguita and
Correctional Institute for Women.

The survey was published in April 1993. The survey covered children confined at Camp
Sampaguita and Correctional Institute for Women as of January 30, 1992. Fifty one children
were interviewed for the survey. The survey concluded that poverty is one of the causes of
juvenile delinquency. A significant percentage of the children’s parents have low income and this
is attributed to the fact that they have low educational attainment. According to the survey, this
situation provided an impoverished environment for the children where prospects for
advancement, socially and economically, became improbable.
 19

With respect to the criminal justice system, the survey made the following conclusions:
 The law enforcers had no orientation on how to handle cases of children at the time the
children committed the offence;
 The physical environment and accommodation at the city, municipal, provincial jail,
Camp Sampaguita or Correctional Institute for Women do not comply with the standards
established by the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Liberty,
Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice and the UN CRC; and
 There is no concrete rehabilitation programme for the children while in confinement.
The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) National Project on Street
Children and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) sponsored a three-year project that
aims to improve the psychological rehabilitation and therapeutic interventions for the sexually
abused, the substance abusers, and those in conflict with the law.

The publication of the project, Listen To Their Inner Voice: Street Children Speak
Through Their Drawings and Metaphors (1996), was written by the overall coordinator, Dr.
Maria Lourdes A. Carandang. The project used a clinical, holistic and in-depth approach as its
research design. Twenty three CICL were interviewed. Among the direction and strategies
identified by the project, the following refers specifically to CICL:

x x x 5. Children in conflict with the law and substance abusers view the world as
‘hopeful.’ They do so because now ‘there are people who care.’ They must first be listened to,
given clear rules, informed of consequences and given corresponding punishment to satisfy their
need for consistent and firm limits. In small groups, they can be helped to visualise future
scenarios and the steps to achieve them, to capitalise on and encourage their sense of hope.

x x x 6. Children in conflict with the law also view themselves (with pride) in being
‘helpful’ to others. This can be used as ‘entry point’ to channel their impulses toward more
constructive things. This can be a group project so they can really be proud of their
accomplishments as a team, this team being composed of their peers or ‘barkada.’ They can also
act as junior residents to explain or enforce the rules and take care of the new residents.

x x x 9. Stop police brutality. The further trauma caused by police harassment and
brutality among children in conflict with the law must be stopped…

x x x 14. Parent surrogates. Children in conflict with the law, like substance abusers, need
to belong to a peer group with a strong parent figure as well. This fills a deep longing for love
and intimacy which they seem to have found in their peers as parent surrogates. It is also
important to develop and strengthen this peer support which should be directed toward helping
them get away from the stigma of being bad and being doomed to be bad. x x x 15. Different
counseling approaches.
 20

The three groups require different counseling approaches… The need to set limits and
disciplinary approaches for substance abusers and children in conflict with the law. On the other
hand, substance abusers and children in conflict with the law need guidance to erase their ‘bad’
label. This can be done through small groups (peer power) discussions. Here they discuss and
share this issue in terms of right and wrong, and later directed to plan and work together on a
project that can make them proud of themselves. They need to experience a firm, but not cruel or
insulting, disciplinary approach and consistent limit-setting… Specific intervention strategies for
three groups… The substance abusers and children in conflict with the law need to form
meaningful and constructive relationships with peers and, as mentioned previously, to have a
firm and consistent, but not harsh and insulting, disciplinary program. Mother figures and father
figures. The sexually abused and children in conflict with the law need to experience positive
and nurturing mother figures, in terms of the therapeutic relationship…Caregivers must be
willing and able to provide these ‘surrogate parent figures’ effectively.

In this aspect, transference and counter-transference issues must be effectively handled. x

x x 19. Moral deterioration of children in conflict with the law. It is urgent that we focus
on the continuing moral deterioration of children in conflict with the law. This gradual erosion or
inadequate development of conscience can be healed by fostering a trusting relationship with
them and involving their peer group in the redirection of behaviour. Setting firm and consistent
limits of right and wrong, without violating their dignity is necessary…

x x x 22. Differences in experience of guilt. It is also important that moral differences in

dealing with guilt among three groups be the basis of directions in their moral development. x x
x Children in conflict with the law must be given early moral intervention to prevent further
erosion of their conscience. The caregiver must connect with their guilt as entry points in
developing a firmer sense of right and wrong and an inner responsibility for owning their actions.

Also in 1996, Dr Exaltacion Lamberte conducted a baseline study for the programme,
“Street Education: An Alternative Response to Street Children,” which was being implemented
by the Inter-City Committee on Street Education (ICCSE). The study entitled, Today’s Metro
Manila Street Children aimed to provide benchmark information about the life situations of street
children in Metro Manila, specifically, Manila, Quezon and Mandaluyong. The study sought to:
1) Provide information on the background characteristics of selected street children;
2) Describe their family situations;
3) Identify deviant behaviours they engage in;
4) Ascertain the factors that contribute to their existing conditions and life situations;
5) Identify their needs and the services they require; and
6) Provide information on the kind of services they receive from various individuals and
organisations.
 21

The study covered a total of 700 sample street children and made use of face-to-face
structured interviews. Convenient sampling techniques were utilised in the selection of subjects.
According to the study, the main deviant behaviours street children engage in are gambling, use
of prohibited drugs, sexual behaviours and commission of illegal acts.38 The data also showed
that 52.21 per cent had been previously arrested by the police, 70.27 per cent in connection with
“bagansiya”39 or police raids. Other reasons for arrest include the following: being a “suspect”
in a crime; use of prohibited drugs; snatching, gambling, vagrancy, begging and pedicab driving
without a license.40 The study also revealed that upon arrest, 30.46 per cent of the children were
punished by “takal,” ie, being beaten with a piece of wood (2” x 2”); 26.46 per cent were asked
to clean the precinct; 5.85 per cent were asked to give a massage to the police; and 2.78 per cent
were asked to give money to the police.

No punishment was given to the rest of the children covered by the study.41 In 1996, the
Philippine Action for Youth Offender (PAYO) also undertook a nation-wide survey of children in
conflict with the law entitled Youth in Detention: Issues and Challenges, A Nationwide Survey.
The objective of the survey was to document the situation of children in detention. Data were
obtained through actual interviews of children inside the city jails in key cities nation-wide. Two
hundred thirty two children nation-wide were interviewed. The socio-demographic
characteristics of the children were described in the survey and the implementation of existing
laws on children in conflict with the law was also analysed. The survey concluded that the
condition in detention violates the fundamental principle of the promotion of the well-being of
children and that they are trapped in institutions that are very punitive in character.

The Philippine Government, with the assistance of UNICEF, reviewed the trends and
issues that have direct impact on children and women. The result, entitled Situation of Children
and Women in the Philippines, was published in 1997. In cases where the child is the accused,
the government recognised the need to continue addressing current problems in the juvenile
justice process, specifically:
 Apprehension: simple procedures for arresting offenders are often disregarded by law
enforcers (e.g., physical examination, provision of the services of a lawyer);
 Detention: youthful offenders are often mixed with adults; a long period of detention is
not uncommon; inadequate facilities and services;
 Adjudication: slow disposition of cases; lack of specialised training for judges in
handling youthful offenders in court;
 Post-adjudication and rehabilitation: jails and correctional institutions have inadequate
facilities and services; community-based rehabilitation programmes need support to provide
school and work opportunities to returning offenders.
 22

The following issues were also identified as requiring immediate attention:

(a) The pre-trial detention;
(b) Need for separate detention centres for minors;
(c) Need to improve and expand community-based rehabilitation programmes for the
children in conflict with the Law;
(d) New set of rules and procedures appropriate and sensitive to children’s psychological
maturity. The Adhikain Para sa Karapatang Pambata (AKAP), in partnership with the
UNICEF, conducted a study on the situation of children in conflict with the law entitled
Situation Analysis on Children in Conflict with the Law and the Juvenile Justice System.

The objectives of the study are the following:

 To analyse data and existing studies on children in conflict with the law;
 To assess the current situation of the administration of juvenile justice in light of the
principles and relevant provisions of the UN CRC…; and
 To recommend practical and achievable steps toward reforming the juvenile justice
system.

The study was conducted through review of data covering 1993 to 1997 on various
aspects of Juvenile Justice System. Information was derived from existing studies, surveys and
reports prepared by concerned groups concerned with CICL. Materials were supplemented by
actual interview and responses to questionnaires sent to selected institutional respondents.
Dialogues with judges and designated courts for children’s cases were conducted from April to
June 1997.

The following recommendations were made after analysis and investigation of the
situation of CICL:
1. Law enforcement officers, prosecutors, judges, court social welfare officers, public
attorneys and legal aid groups should be given orientation seminars on international human
rights instruments and child-related laws with emphasis on juvenile justice.
2. Government agencies and institutions engaged in defending youthful offenders should
coordinate their efforts in providing protection to these children by establishing a common
monitoring system covering the various stages of the juvenile justice process.
3. Specialised juvenile and domestic relations courts should be created.
4. Support programmes for street children and other similarly vulnerable children should
be increased as preventive measures.
5. More facilities exclusively for children who are detained and sentenced should be
constructed to prevent mingling with adult offenders.
6. Community awareness of and involvement in non-institutional rehabilitation
programmes and services should be enhanced.
 23

7. NGOs engaged in multi-disciplinary outreach programmes with CICL should form a

network to maximise extension of assistance to these children.
8. A comprehensive review of existing laws and procedures on juvenile justice in the light
of the UN CRC and other international standard-setting instruments affecting CICL should be
undertaken for purposes of law reform. The National Youth Commission (NYC) commissioned
the Social Weather Stations for the survey on the situation of the youth.

It also tapped the services of experts from the academe and government institutions to
prepare the document The Situation of Youth in the Philippines that was published in 1998.
Statistics and previous studies conducted on youth offenders, delinquent youth and drug-
dependent youth were cited in the report.

As seen in this chapter, there have been several studies and researches that focused
specifically on or included CICL in the Philippines since 1980. Most of the studies provided a
profile and background of the children and their family and the type of offences or crimes
committed by the children. Emphasis was also given to the processes that the child undergoes,
from apprehension by law enforcement officials, court procedure, and rehabilitations services
provided at the correction level.

The studies and researches identified the gaps and problems in dealing with CICL both in
the law and in practice. Recommendations were then provided. In the succeeding chapters, the
results of previous studies and researches are compared with the present results of the project in
the presentation of data, analysis and recommendations.

This is one way of measuring if there have been improvements or a worsening of the
situation in terms of law applicable to CICL and in the practice and procedure of the five pillars
in dealing with these children. The project also examined past recommendations in order to see
its applicability in the context of the present situation.
 24

B. Jurisprudence

Ortega v. People, 562 SCRA 450

Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (Republic Act No. 9344); Sec. 68 of Republic Act
No. 9344 allows the retroactive application of the law to those who have been convicted and are
serving sentence at the time of the effectivity of said law, and who were below the age of 18
years at the time of the commission of the offense—with more reason, the law should apply
where the conviction by the lower court is still under review.—In the determination of the
imposable penalty, the Court of Appeals correctly considered Republic Act No. 9344 (Juvenile
Justice and Welfare Act of 2006) despite the commission of the crime three (3) years before it
was enacted on 28 April 2006. We recognize its retroactive application following the rationale
elucidated in People v. Sarcia, 599 SCRA 20 (2009): [Sec. 68 of Republic Act No. 9344] allows
the retroactive application of the Act to those who have been convicted and are serving sentence
at the time of the effectivity of this said Act, and who were below the age of 18 years at the time
of the commission of the offense. With more reason, the Act should apply to this case wherein
the conviction by the lower court is still under review.

Same; Same; Words and Phrases; Discernment is that mental capacity of a minor to fully
appreciate the consequences of his unlawful act, which capacity may be known and should be
determined by taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances afforded by the records in
each case.—Sec. 6 of Republic Act No. 9344 exempts a child above fifteen (15) years but below
eighteen (18) years of age from criminal liability, unless the child is found to have acted with
discernment, in which case, “the appropriate proceedings” in accordance with the Act shall be
observed.

We determine discernment in this wise: Discernment is that mental capacity of a minor to fully
appreciate the consequences of his unlawful act. Such capacity may be known and should be
determined by taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances afforded by the records in
each case. x x x The surrounding circumstances must demonstrate that the minor knew what he
was doing and that it was wrong. Such circumstance includes the gruesome nature of the crime
and the minor’s cunning and shrewdness.

In the present case, we agree with the Court of Appeals that: “(1) choosing an isolated and dark
place to perpetrate the crime, to prevent detection[;] and (2) boxing the victim x x x, to weaken
her defense” are indicative of then seventeen (17) year-old appellant’s mental capacity to fully
understand the consequences of his unlawful action.
 25

Mitigating Circumstances; Minority; Penalties; While under Article 68 of the Revised Penal
Code, when the offender is a minor under 18 years, the penalty next lower than that prescribed
by law shall be imposed, but always in the proper period, for purposes of determining the proper
penalty because of the privileged mitigating circumstance of minority, the penalty of death is still
the penalty to be reckoned with.—In a more recent case, the Court En Banc, through the
Honorable Justice Teresita J. Leonardo-de Castro, clarified: Under Article 68 of the Revised
Penal Code, when the offender is a minor under 18 years, the penalty next lower than that
prescribed by law shall be imposed, but always in the proper period. However, for purposes of
determining the proper penalty because of the privileged mitigating circumstance of minority, the
penalty of death is still the penalty to be reckoned with. Thus, the proper imposable penalty for
the accused-appellant is reclusion perpetua. Accordingly, appellant should be meted the penalty
of reclusion perpetua.

Civil Liability; The fact that the offender was still a minor at the time he committed the crime
has no bearing on the gravity and extent of injury suffered by the victim and her family.—We
have consistently ruled that: The litmus test x x x in the determination of the civil indemnity is
the heinous character of the crime committed, which would have warranted the imposition of the
death penalty, regardless of whether the penalty actually imposed is re duced to reclusion
perpetua. Likewise, the fact that the offender was still a minor at the time he committed the crime
has no bearing on the gravity and extent of injury suffered by the victim and her family. The
respective awards of civil indemnity and moral damages in the amount of P75,000.00 each are,
therefore, proper. Accordingly, despite the presence of the privileged mitigating circumstance of
minority which effectively lowered the penalty by one degree, we affirm the damages awarded
by the Court of Appeals in the amount of P75,000.00 as civil indemnity and P75,000.00 as moral
damages. And, consistent with prevailing jurisprudence, the amount of exemplary damages
should be increased from P25,000.00 to P30,000.00.

Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006; Statutory Construction; Since R.A. No. 9344 does
not distinguish between a minor who has been convicted of a capital offense and another who
has been convicted of a lesser offense, the Court should also not distinguish and should apply the
automatic suspension of sentence to a child in conflict with the law who has been found guilty of
a heinous crime.—Applying Declarador v. Gubaton, 499 SCRA 341 (2006), which was
promulgated on 18 August 2006, the Court of Appeals held that, consistent with Article 192 of
Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended, the aforestated provision does not apply to one who
has been convicted of an offense punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment.
Meanwhile, on 10 September 2009, this Court promulgated the decision in Sarcia, overturning
the ruling in Gubaton.
 26

Thus: The xxx provision makes no distinction as to the nature of the offense committed by the
child in conflict with the law, unlike P.D. No. 603 and A.M. No. 02-1-18-SC. The said P.D. and
Supreme Court (SC) Rule provide that the benefit of suspended sentence would not apply to a
child in conflict with the law if, among others, he/she has been convicted of an offense
punishable by death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment. In construing Sec. 38 of R.A. No.
9344, the Court is guided by the basic principle of statutory construction that when the law does
not distinguish, we should not distinguish.

Since R.A. No. 9344 does not distinguish between a minor who has been convicted of a capital
offense and another who has been convicted of a lesser offense, the Court should also not
distinguish and should apply the automatic suspension of sentence to a child in conflict with the
law who has been found guilty of a heinous crime. The legislative intent reflected in the Senate
deliberations on Senate Bill No. 1402 (Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 2005)
further strengthened the new position of this Court to cover heinous crimes in the application of
the provision on the automatic suspension of sentence of a child in conflict with the law.

Estioca v. People, 556 SCRA 300

The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 should be given retroactive effect insofar as it
favors a person guilty of a felony who is not a habitual criminal.—Although the crime was
committed on 28 July 2001 and Republic Act No. 9344 took effect only on 20 May 2006, the
said law should be given retroactive effect in favor of Boniao who was not shown to be a habitu-
al criminal. This is based on Article 22 of the Revised Penal Code which provides: Retroactive
effect of penal laws.—Penal laws shall have a retroactive effect insofar as they favor the person
guilty of a felony, who is not a habitual criminal, as this term is defined in Rule 5 of Article 62 of
this Code, although at the time of the publication of such laws a final sentence has been pro-
nounced and the convict is serving the same.

Madali v. Peple, 595 SCRA 274

Exempting Circumstances; Minority; Republic Act No. 9344;

An accused who was only 14 years of age at the time he committed the crime is exempt from
criminal liability and should be released to the custody of his parents or guardian pursuant to
Sections 6 and 20 of Republic Act No. 9344.—As to the criminal liability, Raymond is exempt.
As correctly ruled by the Court of Appeals, Raymund, who was only 14 years of age at the time
he committed the crime, should be exempt from criminal liability and should be released to the
custody of his parents or guardian pursuant to Sections 6 and 20 of Republic Act No. 9344, to
wit: SEC. 6. Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility.—A child fifteen (15) years of age or un-
der at the time of the commission of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability.
 27

Araneta v. People, 556 SCRA 323

It is doctrinal that the claim of minority by an accused will be upheld by the court even without
any proof to corroborate his testimony until the same is disproved by the prosecution. (People vs.
Lumandong, 327 SCRA 650 [2000]) A claim of minority even without any other proof to corrob-
orate such testimony may be upheld especially when coupled with the fact that the prosecution
failed to present contradictory evidence. (People vs. Chua, 339 SCRA 405 [2000])

People v. Sarcia, 599 SCRA 20

Children in Conflict with the Law; Since Republic Act No. 9344 does not distinguish between
a minor who has been convicted of a capital offense and another who has been convicted of a
lesser offense, the Court should also not distinguish and should apply the automatic suspension
of sentence to a child in conflict with the law who has been found guilty of a heinous crime.—
Sec. 38 of R.A. No. 9344 provides for the automatic suspension of sentence of a child in conflict
with the law, even if he/she is already 18 years of age or more at the time he/she is found guilty
of the offense charged.

It reads: Sec. 38. Automatic Suspension of Sentence.—Once the child who is under eighteen
(18) years of age at the time of the commission of the offense is found guilty of the offense
charged, the court shall determine and ascertain any civil liability which may have resulted from
the offense committed. However, instead of pronouncing the judgment of conviction, the court
shall place the child in conflict with the law under suspended sentence, without need of applica-
tion: Provided, however, That suspension of sentence shall still be applied even if the juvenile is
already eighteen (18) of age or more at the time of the pronouncement of his/her guilt. Upon sus-
pension of sentence and after considering the various circumstances of the child, the court shall
impose the appropriate disposition measures as provided in the, Supreme Court on Juvenile in
Conflict with the Law.

The above-quoted provision makes no distinction as to the nature of the offense committed by
the child in conflict with the law, unlike P.D. No. 603 and A.M. No. 02-1-18-SC. The said P.D.
and Supreme Court (SC) Rule provide that the benefit of suspended sentence would not apply to
a child in conflict with the law if, among others, he/she has been convicted of an offense punish-
able by death, reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment. In construing Sec. 38 of R.A. No. 9344,
the Court is guided by the basic principle of statutory construction that when the law does not
distinguish, we should not distinguish. Since R.A. No. 9344 does not distinguish between a mi-
nor who has been convicted of a capital offense and another who has been convicted of a lesser
offense, the Court should also not distinguish and should apply the automatic suspension of sen-
tence to a child in conflict with the law who has been found guilty of a heinous crime.
 28

If said child in conflict with the law has reached eighteen (18) years of age while under suspend-
ed sentence, the court shall determine whether to discharge the child in accordance with this Act,
to order execution of sentence or to extend the suspended sentence for a certain specified period
or until the child reaches the maximum age of twenty-one (21) years.
While Sec. 38 of R.A. No. 9344 provides that suspension of sentence can still be applied even if
the child in conflict with the law is already eighteen (18) years of age or more at the time of the
pronouncement of his/her guilt, Sec. 40 of the same law limits the said suspension of sentence
until the said child reaches the maximum age of 21, thus:

Sec. 40. Return Child in Conflict with the Law to Court.—If the court finds that the objective
of the disposition measures imposed upon the child in conflict with the law have not been ful-
filled, or if the child in conflict with the law has willfully failed to comply with the condition of
his/her disposition or rehabilitation program, the child in conflict with the law shall be brought
before the court for execution of judgment. If said child in conflict with the law has reached
eighteen (18) years of age while under suspended sentence, the court shall determine whether to
discharge the child in accordance with this Act, to order, execution of sentence, or to extend the
suspended sentence for a certain specified period or until the child reaches the maximum age of
twenty-one (21) years.

A child in conflict with the law may, after conviction and upon order of the court, be made to
serve his/her sentence, in lieu of confinement in a regular penal institution, in an agricultural
camp and other training facilities that may be established, maintained, supervised and controlled
by the Bureau of Corrections (BUCOR), in coordination with the Department of Social Wel-
fare and Development.—To date, accused-appellant is about 31 years of age, and the judgment of
the RTC had been promulgated, even before the effectivity of R.A. No. 9344.

Thus, the application of Secs. 38 and 40 to the suspension of sentence is now moot and academ-
ic. However, accused-appellant shall be entitled to appropriate disposition under Sec. 51 of R.A.
No. 9344, which provides for the confinement of convicted children as follows:

Sec. 51. Confinement of Convicted Children in Agricultural Camps and Other Training Facili-
ties.—A child in conflict with the law may, after conviction and upon order of the court, be made
to serve his/her sentence, in lieu of confinement in a regular penal institution, in an agricultural
camp and other training facilities that may be established, maintained, supervised and controlled
by the BUCOR, in coordination with the DSWD. The civil liability resulting from the commis-
sion of the offense is not affected by the appropriate disposition measures and shall be enforced
in accordance with law.
 29

Atizado v. People, 633 SCRA 105

Evidence; It is a basic rule of appellate adjudication in this jurisdiction that the trial judge’s
evaluation of the credibility of a witness and of the witness’ testimony is accorded the highest
respect because the trial judge’s unique opportunity to observe directly the demeanor of the wit-
ness enables him to determine whether the witness is telling the truth or not.—It is a basic rule of
appellate adjudication in this jurisdiction that the trial judge’s evaluation of the credibility of a
witness and of the witness’ testimony is accorded the highest respect because the trial judge’s
unique opportunity to observe directly the demeanor of the witness enables him to determine
whether the witness is telling the truth or not. Such evaluation, when affirmed by the CA, is
binding on the Court unless facts or circumstances of weight have been overlooked, misappre-
hended, or misinterpreted that, if considered, would materially affect the disposition of the case.

People v. Salcedo, 652 SCRA, 635

Alibi and Denial; It is established jurisprudence that denial and alibi cannot prevail over the
witnesses’ positive identification of the accused-appellants.—In the face of all that evidence, the
only defense accused-appellants could muster are denial and alibi, and for accused-appellants
Iblong, Mandangan, Salcedo and Jaafar, their alleged minority. Accused-appellants’ proffered
defense are sorely wanting when pitted against the prosecution’s evidence. It is established juris-
prudence that denial and alibi cannot prevail over the witnesses’ positive identification of the ac-
cused-appellants. More so where, as in the present case, the accused-appellants failed to present
convincing evidence that it was physically impossible for them to have been present at the crime
scene at the time of the commission thereof.

People v. Arpon, 662 SCRA 506

Minority; Guidelines in appreciating age either as an element of the crime or as a qualifying cir-
cumstance.—In People v. Pruna, 390 SCRA 577 (2002), the Court established the guidelines in
appreciating age, either as an element of the crime or as a qualifying circumstance, as follows:

1. The best evidence to prove the age of the offended party is an original or certified true copy of
the certificate of live birth of such party.

2. In the absence of a certificate of live birth, similar authentic documents such as baptismal cer-
tificate and school records which show the date of birth of the victim would suffice to prove age.

3. If the certificate of live birth or authentic document is shown to have been lost or destroyed or
otherwise unavailable, the testimony, if clear and credible, of the victim’s mother or a member of
the family either by affinity or consanguinity who is qualified to testify on matters respecting
pedigree such as the exact age or date of birth of the offended party.
 30

Pursuant to Section 40, Rule 130 of the Rules on Evidence shall be sufficient under the following
circumstances:
a. If the victim is alleged to be below 3 years of age and what is sought to be proved is that she is
less than 7 years old;
b. If the victim is alleged to be below 7 years of age and what is sought to be proved is that she is
less than 12 years old;
c. If the victim is alleged to be below 12 years of age and what is sought to be proved is that she
is less than 18 years old; 4. In the absence of a certificate of live birth, authentic document, or the
testimony of the victim’s mother or relatives concerning the victim’s age, the complainant’s tes-
timony will suffice provided that it is expressly and clearly admitted by the accused.

5. It is the prosecution that has the burden of proving the age of the offended party. The failure of
the accused to object to the testimonial evidence regarding age shall not be taken against him.

Section 6 of R.A. No. 9344 effectively modified the minimum age limit of criminal responsibil-
ity in paragraphs 2 and 3 of the Revised Penal Code.—As held in Sierra, the above provision ef-
fectively modified the minimum age limit of criminal irresponsibility in paragraphs 2 and 3 of
the Revised Penal Code, as amended, “i.e., from ‘under nine years of age’ and ‘above nine years
of age and under fifteen’ (who acted without discernment)—to ‘fifteen years old or under’ and
‘above fifteen but below 18’ (who acted without discernment) in determining exemption from
criminal liability.”

People v. Monticalvo, 689 SCRA 715

To give meaning to the legislative intent of Republic Act No. 9344, the promotion of the wel-
fare of a child in conflict with the law should extend even to one who has exceeded the age limit
of 21 years, so long as he/she committed the crime when he/she was still a child.―Be that as it
may, to give meaning to the legislative intent of Republic Act No. 9344, the promotion of the
welfare of a child in conflict with the law should extend even to one who has exceeded the age
limit of 21 years, so long as he/she committed the crime when he/she was still a child. The of-
fender shall be entitled to the right to restoration, rehabilitation and reintegration in accordance
with Republic Act No. 9344 in order that he/she is given the chance to live a normal life and be-
come a productive member of the community. The age of the child in conflict with the law at the
time of the promulgation of the judgment of conviction is not material. What matters is that the
offender committed the offense when he/she was still of tender age. The appellant, therefore,
shall be entitled to appropriate disposition under Section 51 of Republic Act No. 9344, which
provides for the confinement of convicted children as follows: SEC. 51. Confinement of Convicted
Children in Agricultural Camps and Other Training Facilities.―A child in conflict with the law may, af-
ter conviction and upon order of the court, be made to serve his/her sentence, in lieu of confinement in a
regular penal institution, in an agricultural camp and other training facilities that may be established,
maintained, supervised and controlled by the BUCOR, in coordination with the DSWD.
 31

PHILIPPINE LEGISLATION

Guiding principles in the decision of CICL cases.

The Rule on JICL enumerates principles to guide the judge in deciding the case against the child,
as follows:
1. It shall be in proportion to the gravity of the offence, and shall consider the circumstances
and the best interests of the child, the rights of the victim and the needs of society in line with
the demands of restorative justice.
2. Restrictions on the personal liberty of the child shall be limited to the minimum. Where
discretion is given by law to the judge to determine whether the penalty to be imposed is fine or
imprisonment, the imposition of the former should be preferred as the more appropriate penalty.
3. No corporal punishment shall be imposed.

Right to dismissal. Art. 189 of PD 603 provides the right to dismissal and commitment to
parents or guardian if the child is below nine years old. The right to dismissal of the case against
him or her and commitment to parents/guardians may also be invoked by the child between nine
years old and below 15 years unless the child acted with discernment.

Promulgation of sentence. If after trial the Family Court should find the child guilty, it shall
promulgate the sentence, impose the proper penalty and ascertain any civil liability that the child
may have incurred.

Automatic suspension of sentence. Instead of serving his or her sentence, the child found to
have committed the act constituting the offence is generally entitled to automatic suspension of
sentence, except if the offence is punishable by death or life imprisonment, or if the child has
previously availed of suspension of sentence or when at the time of promulgation of judgment
the child is already 18 years of age or over.

Imposable penalty is lowered. The law provides for the lowering of the penalty in considering
the age of the child. If the convicted youth is over nine but under 15 years of age, the penalty
imposed is two degrees lower than that prescribed by law. If the child is over 15 years of age but
below 18 years, the penalty imposed shall be one degree lower than that prescribed by law.147
Prohibition on death penalty. Philippine law prohibits death penalty on persons below 18 years of
age at the time of the commission of the crime.
 32

CHAPTER III

INTERVIEWS

Interview Questions

The Police Inquiry

Training and Information:

 How long have you been working as a police officer or law enforcement official?

 Are you working only with juveniles? If not, how much time do you spend working with
juveniles?
 Do you have any official training in the handling of juveniles?

 Do you have any official training in human rights or child rights? Including juvenile justice
rights, in particular, Articles 37 and 40 of the CRC?

 Do you have any written materials, i.e., handbooks, a code of conduct, guidelines, legal doc-
uments, that address the arrest and detention of juvenile offenders?

 Are you obligated to take any continuing education courses, if any, in the handling of juve-
nile offenders?

 What kind of training program would be valuable to assist you in the handling of juvenile
offenders?

The Process

 Please explain the process at the moment you encounter a juvenile who appears to have vio-
lated the law.

 What level of evidence in necessary to arrest the child?

 How often, if ever, do you use handcuffs or other physical restraints when taking a child into
custody?

 Do you tell the child why you are arresting him or her and what the child’s legal rights are?
If so, at what point during the interaction?
 33

 Do you tell the child that s/he has a right not to speak to the officer?

 Do you tell the child that s/he has a right not to speak in front of the officer without his or her
parent’s present? Or without a lawyer or other legal representative present?

 Do you contact the child’s parents or legal guardian? If so, at what point in the process is this
done? And how is this done? Do you telephone? Visit the child’s home?

 Do you inform the parents of the reason for the child’s arrest and of the legal process?

 Do you inform the parents of the child’s legal rights? Including the right to an attorney and
the right not to speak to any officials without their presence or without the presence of the at-
torney? If not, why not?

 Do you have a legal obligation to contact the CSW/GA when you arrest a child? If yes, what
is the time limit for notifying the agency? If not, under what conditions, if any, do you notify
the CSW/GA?

 What is your understanding of the role of CSW/GA in the arrest process of a juvenile?

 When you decide to detain a child, where do you detain him or her? In the police station
lock-up? If not, where do you take the child?

 If you take the child somewhere other than the police station, what happens to the child from
this off-site location?

 At what point in the process do you inform the prosecutor of the child’s arrest? What is the
legally allowed time limit?

 If the child is detained overnight, what provisions do you provide?

 What form of questioning is used when you are interviewing a child? Do you have any writ-
ten guidelines that you use for this process? If so, may we have a copy?

 Do you collect statistics on the arrest of juveniles? If yes, do you know:

- What is the total general population of children in Serbia (Montenegro)?
- How many children are arrested annually (i.e., prior to being officially charged with
commission of a crime)?
- What are the ages, sexes, and ethnic or national origins of these children?
 34

- What crimes are they being accused of committing?

- How many children under the age of 14 (criminal responsibility) are reported for criminal
activity?
- How many children are detained rather than released to the care of others, such as their
families or the CSW/GA?
- How many children do the police channel away from the formal legal process, using a di-
version scheme, such as taking a child home and talking to his or her parents?

 What happens to this data once you have gathered it? Do you forward it elsewhere? If yes,
where?

 What are the public’s perceptions regarding the above statistics? Do these perceptions coin-
cide with the actual data? If not, why not?

 Do you see any patterns or trends emerging from the current statistics on juvenile crime?

Recommendations

 If you had the opportunity to recommend any changes to the juvenile justice system, what
would those changes be?
THE CENTRE FOR SOCIAL WORK

The Centre for Social Work (CSW), through the Juvenile Teams within the Guardianship
Authority, often intervenes in the adjudication of juvenile cases. The juvenile court judge will
ask the Juvenile Team to conduct an assessment of the child’s life and provide a written report
and recommendations to the court. The Juvenile Team usually consists of a psychologist, social
worker, pedagogue (education specialist), and lawyer. This team works together when
conducting the assessment for the court. This assessment will typically include a review of the
child’s life at home and in school and will include any problems the child might be having. The
judge is free to consider the report and recommendations, but is not legally obligated in any way.
In the case where the Juvenile Team finds that the child’s home life is detrimental to the child’s
well-being, the Team may find the child an alternative living arrangement pending the legal
proceedings. In addition, the judge may ask the Juvenile Team to monitor the child if the child is
released to his or her parents while awaiting further proceedings. The Juvenile Team may also
recommend that the child’s case be re-opened given a change in circumstances, i.e., whether the
child is doing exceptionally well or exceptionally poorly.
 35

The CSW/Juvenile Team Inquiry

Training and Information

 How long have you been working with juvenile offenders at the CSW? What is your area of
expertise?

 Do you work with juvenile offenders exclusively? If not, how much time is dedicated to
working on juvenile justice issues?

 What official training, if any, have you or your colleagues received in the handling of juve-
nile offenders? In the rights of the child? Including their juvenile justice rights? In the im-
plementation of diversion schemes?

 What official training, if any, have you or your colleagues received in the conducting of the
court’s assessment of the juvenile?

 Are you obligated to take continuing education courses, if any, in the handling of juvenile
offenders?

 What materials (code of conduct, handbook, guidelines, etc.), if any, have you received that
address the handling of juvenile offenders?

 What kind of training program would you find useful in the handling of juvenile offenders?

The Process

 Explain the process of the Juvenile team when the CSW is called upon to intervene in the
case of a juvenile offender.

 From whom does the CSW receive referrals of juvenile offender cases? School officials?
Parents? The police? Others? Please explain.

 What happens once the police contact the CSW?

 Does the CSW have the authority to decide a case against a juvenile offender? If so, what is
the range of determinations the CSW makes, i.e, does it send the child to a community pro-
gram? An after-school program? etc…

 How does the Juvenile Team interact with the prosecutor’s office?
 36

 How does the Juvenile Team interact with the juvenile court judge?

 What law authorises the CSW and Juvenile Team to act on behalf of juveniles?

 Do you have rules and regulations that govern the Juvenile Team process, specifically? If
yes, may we have a copy?

 What role, if any, does the Juvenile Team play in the probation or parole of a juvenile offend-
er?

 Do education officials, i.e., teachers, school heads, pedagogues, child psychologists, parents
or legal guardians, ever contact the CSW with problem children?

 If yes, what legal authority does the CSW have to handle these cases? And, how does the
CSW handle these cases?

 What do you find is the most prevalent cause of juvenile crime?

 What is the public’s perception of the CSW and the Juvenile Team’s role in the handling of
juvenile offenders?

 Are you aware of any emerging trends relevant to the role of the social worker to the juvenile
offenders?

 Do you collect data at the CSW regarding the juvenile offenders under your jurisdiction? For
example, do you track the number of juvenile cases you handle? The types of crimes the ju-
veniles are accused of committing? The dispositions made? The age, sex, and ethnic or na-
tional origin of the juveniles? etc… If yes, would you please explain how this data is collect-
ed? If you use any standard forms, may we have a copies?

 What resources do you need to more effectively do your job when dealing with juvenile of-
fenders?

Diversion Schemes

 What diversion programs, if any, are you responsible for implementing? Which are the most
popular?
 37

 Are there additional diversion schemes that you would like to see implemented to steer juve-
nile offenders away from the formal judicial process?

 Regarding the creation and implementation of diversion schemes, do you see an increased
role for the CSW and the Juvenile Teams? If so, what would you need to effectively execute
these new responsibilities?

 What role, if any, do you see for UNICEF to assist in the development and implementation of
new diversion schemes?

Post-Disposition and Rehabilitation

 What is the range of follow-up responsibilities that the Juvenile Team will have after the
court orders the juvenile’s disposition?

 What role, if any, does the Juvenile Team play in helping to rehabilitate the juvenile offend-
er? Please explain in detail.

 If the Juvenile Team does not have a role in the rehabilitation of the juvenile offender, what
community group, if any, does?

 Are you aware of any special training programs designed for children’s participation that re-
view their rights, including their due process rights?

Recommendations

 If you had the opportunity to make recommendations to improve the CSW/GA’s role in the
handling of juvenile offenders, what would those changes be?

THE JUDICIARY

The Juvenile Court Judge Inquiry

Training and Information

 How long have you been trying cases against juvenile offenders?
 Did you receive any specialised training in the handling of juvenile cases? Or any training
specific to juvenile’s rights according to Articles 37 and 40 of the CRC?
 38

 Do you have any written materials on juvenile justice, for example, a specialised code of
conduct, handbook, list of children’s rights, etc…?

 What kind of training program, if any, would you find useful in the handling of juvenile of-
fenders?

The Process

 Once the prosecutor decides to put a case forward against a juvenile, what happens next?
Would you please explain the process?

 At what point in the process does the juvenile have the right to an attorney?

 Is a defence attorney always appointed to handle the juvenile’s case when the juvenile’s fami-
ly can not afford to hire a private attorney? If not, why not?

 Does the court have a policy or legal obligation to notify the juvenile’s parents or legal
guardian of all court proceedings? And do they have a right to be present at all hearings?

 For what reasons, might the court proceed without the child’s parents present?

 Does the juvenile have a right to participate in his or her own proceedings? If yes, at what
age is this allowed?

 For what reasons, other than age, might the court disallow the child from participating?

 Does the court ever proceed with a hearing in the absence of the child? If yes, for what rea-
sons is this allowed?

 Are there reasons when the juvenile will not be allowed to participate?

 Does the juvenile have a right to cross-examine adverse witnesses? If not, why not?

 Does the juvenile have a right to remain silent? If not, why not?

 Does the juvenile have a right to an appeal? If not, why not?

 Is a juvenile’s case tried separately from an adult’s case when it’s the same cause of action?
If not, why not?
 39

 What is the policy on the confidentiality of the juvenile’s records?

 Does the juvenile have a criminal record once a disposition is ordered?

 In the case where a juvenile is indicted for a particular crime, on what basis do you decide
whether the child should be held in pre-trial detention or released to the care of his or her
family or other guardian?

 Can you estimate the number of children who are held in pre-trial detention versus released
to the care of their families or others? Or perhaps you have statistics on this?

 What is the farthest distance a juvenile offender and his or her family might have to travel to
be heard in your courtroom?

 Regarding statistics: Do you know:

- How many children are prosecuted every year? And for what offenses?
- The age, sex, ethnic or national origin of each juvenile offender?
- How many children are convicted?
- How many are channelled through diversion schemes?
- How many are channelled into a traditional (closed facility) scheme, such as an educa-
tional or correctional facility or a prison?
- Which institution each child has been sent?
- What other dispositions have been ordered if not mentioned above?

 To what extent are juvenile offender’s due process rights being met during proceedings and
through the disposition and incarceration?

 Are you aware of any groups that are gathering statistics or monitoring any aspect of the ju-
venile justice system?

 Are you aware of any studies on the perceptions/experiences of children involved in the ju-
venile justice system?

Diversion Schemes

 What is the policy of the court regarding implementation of diversion schemes?

 Do you believe that diversion schemes are an effective measure to deter a juvenile offender
from future criminal behaviour?
 40

 What problems do you find with the current diversion schemes that are available?

 Are there new diversion schemes you would like to see implemented? If so, what would
those be?

 What resources would you need to develop and implement these new diversion schemes?

 What role do you see UNICEF playing if it were to assist in the development and implemen-
tation of new diversion schemes?

Pre-Trial Detention

 What is the maximum legal length of stay for a juvenile to remain in pre-trial detention?

 Is restorative justice ever used during the pre-trial detention phase of a juvenile offender’s
proceedings?

 If no hearing has been held at this cut-off date, what happens to the juvenile?

 Would you list the possible legal options you have when placing a juvenile offender in pre-
trial detention? Including releasing the child to the care of his or her family, to a guardian,
under close supervision, etc…

 Do you ensure that if a child is to be detained in a closed facility, that it is only as a measure
of last resort and for the shortest period of time possible?

 Are juveniles ever held in adult facilities during pre-trial detention? If so, why and how
many and in which facilities are they sent? Also, while there, are they put into cells with
adult detainees and inmates?
 41

CHAPTER IV

BODY

Factors Underlying Juvenile Delinquency

In spite of the great complexity and diversity of the causes of delinquency, cases are
found to have many factors in common. The different combinations of these factors are largely
responsible for the differences in offenses. It should be possible, therefore, to draw up a list of
conditioning factors from a study of a large number of cases which would cover most of the
possibilities, and from which could be isolated any group or combination of factors applicable to
a particular case. Such a list should prove to be a diagnostic aid for all workers in the field of
juvenile delinquency. The following outline comprises the factors which have been found to
operate in some thousands of cases studied and reported on by various authorities. These factors
are classed under six general headings:
Physical factors
Mental factors
Home conditions
School conditions
Neighborhood conditions, and
Occupational conditions.

The first two groups include all factors dependent upon the bodily and mental condition
of the delinquent. These are the product of both heredity and environment. The other four groups
consist of environmental factors: unfavorable conditions in the home and the family of the child,
unfavorable ,onditions in the school environment, the neighborhood, and occupational
environments. An itemized list is presented first, followed by a short discussion of each factor.

A brief analysis is given and the way in which each factor may determine delinquency is
indicated. No attempt has been made to evaluate the importance of the various factors, because
this problem is too controversial and any statement would be merely a matter of opinion.
Moreover, the less important factors need to be stressed as they are the most likely to be
overlooked. The few quotations included are merely illustrative of the points in question, and
were chosen because of their apparent truth rather than their authoritative source.
 42

I. Physical Factors.
1. Malnutrition.
2. Lack of sleep.
3. Developmental aberrations.
4. Sensory defects.
5. Speech defects.
6. Endocrine disorders.
7. Deformities.
8. Nervous diseases.
9. Other ailments.
10. Physical exuberance.
11. Drug addiction.
12. Effect of weather.

II. Mental Factors.

1. Mental defect.
2. Superior intelligence.
3. Psychoses.
4. Psychoneuroses.
5. Psychopathic constitution (including emotional instability).
6. Abnormalities of instinct and emotion.
7. Uneven mental development.
8. Obsessive imagery and imagination.
9. Mental conflicts.
10. Repression and substitution.
11. Inferiority complex.
12. Introversion and egocentrism.
13. Revengefulness (get-even complex).
14. Suggestibility.
15. Contra-suggestibility.
16. Lethargy and laziness.
17. Adolescent emotional instability.
18. Sex habits and experiences.
19. Habit and association.
 43

III. Home Conditions.

1. Unsanitary conditions.
2. Material deficiencies.
3. Excess in material things.
4. Poverty and unemployment.
5. Broken homes.
6. Mental and physical abnormalities of parents, or siblings.
7. Immoral and delinquent parents.
8. Ill-treatment by foster parents, step-parents, or guardians.
9. Stigma of illegitimacy.
10. Lack of parental care and affection.
11. Lack of confidence and frankness between parents and children.
12. Deficient and misdirected discipline.
13. Unhappy relationship with siblings.
14. Bad example.
15. Foreign birth or parentage.
16. "Superior" education of children

IV. School Conditions.

1. Inadequate school building and equipment.
2. Inadequate facilities for recreation.
3. Rigid and inelastic school system, "the goose-step."
4. Poor attendance laws and lax enforcement.
5. Wrong grading.
6. Unsatisfactory teacher.
7. Undesirable attitude of pupil towards teacher.
8. Bad school companions and codes of morals.

V. Neighborhood Conditions.
1. Lack of recreational facilities.
2. Congested neighborhood and slums.
3. Disreputable morals of the district.
4. Proximity of luxury and wealth.
5. Influence of gangs and gang codes.
6. Loneliness, lack of social outlets.
7. Overstimulating movies and Shows.
 44

VI. Occupational Conditions.

1. Irregular occupation.
2. Occupational misfit.
3. Spare time and idleness.
4. Truancy.
5. Factory influences.
6. Monotony and restraint.
7. Decline in the apprenticeship system.

Youthful crime is not something new in human affairs. But in our age the problem of
juvenile delinquency has assumed such proportions as to cause grave concern to the community
and to call for special comment and prompt remedy. To an alarming degree the records of
wrongdoing reveal that the criminals are under 21 years of age, and many of them are under 18, a
fact which is reflected in the unsavory notoriety which has gathered around the term "teen-age
gang." The crimes involved run from general disorderliness and insubordination to acts of the
gravest violence, not excluding murder. And the wave has spread its influence so widely that it
has affected society at every level, and there is hardly a family with growing sons and daughters
which does not feel apprehensive of its contagion.

What are the reasons for this upsurge of youthful criminality? Obviously at the root of it is that
primordial rebellion which we call original sin, which at all times and in all places has been
prolific in wrongdoing. But why is this evil root producing such luxuriant fruit precisely now
and precisely among our youth? Let it be said at the very beginning that it is a great mistake to
treat juvenile delinquency as a malady detached from the body of society. There is juvenile
delinquency because there is adult delinquency. And therefore its most basic cause is a decline
in public and private morality, as its most fundamental remedy is a reformation of life at all
levels of society. This is an unpleasant necessity that many reformers refuse to face, and as a
result deserve from youth the scriptural rebuke: Physician cure you.

Nevertheless, there are special reasons why the evil is flourishing in our day and these deserve
mention and discussion.

The first reason is to be found in the fact that hundreds of thousands of our boys and girls
are growing up without serious religious formation. The first source of religious training for
children should be the family. But with a very large fraction of the parents themselves products
of the very system that creates juvenile delinquency, not much is to be hoped for from that
source, until the parents themselves seriously study and practice religion. Too many homes are
without any religion except perhaps a few traditional observances that have lost most of their
meaning. As a consequence, the children are raised in an environment devoid of Christian
 45

There is a lack of true love between husband and wife; an absence of proper esteem for
honesty, truthfulness and chastity. The parents in too many instances seek their happiness
elsewhere. They are constantly out of the house in quest of diversion, according to the
potentialities of their income, at gambling tables, night clubs, or movies.

The care of the children is confided to maids, houseboys, chauffeurs; or they are simply left to
their own devices. Little effort is made to exercise parental authority; with cruel indulgence
fathers and mothers yield to their children's every whim, spare them every hardship, pass over
every misdeed. It is obvious that such a home is little prepared to fulfill its most important
function of turning the child's heart and mind to God. Unfortunately, religious instruction outside
the home can do little to compensate for these domestic failures. The number of priests is too
few to allow pastors to take proper care of their flocks. And the schools are still far from
offering a solution. It is true that religious instruction is authorized by law in our public schools
but the implementation of the law is very frequently attended with grave difficulties.

In many cases widespread poverty adds new occasion for the downfall of the
young. Fathers and mothers are forced by the need of earning a livelihood to be frequently away
from home for long periods. Housing conditions are often such as to deprive the members of the
most elemental privacy, and are so restricted that children must of necessity spend most of their
time in the streets. In the dire want that is a daily, nay, an hourly anxiety, thieving and other
kinds of wrongdoing offer tempting avenues of income.

It is not surprising if, in this absence of religion and in this favorable climate of poverty, bad
motion pictures and bad literature, the two principle forces for juvenile delinquency, produce
disastrous results.

Obviously not all motion pictures incur these strictures. But the number of harmful
movies is so high as to bring discredit on the whole industry. Producers, distributors, theatre
owners and advertisers must all share the blame for the evil. Advertisers especially play a
peculiarly sinister role in this tragedy. In their efforts to attract the public to the theater, they
often exceed all bounds of decency, and seem to think no means illicit if it serves their
purpose. Newspapers which print their advertising are equally to blame for the harm that results.
Bad literature is the accomplice of the movies in this campaign of corruption. Motion picture
magazines are of course tainted with the same disease as the industry itself, holding up bad
principles, false ideals and sinful people for the admiration and emulation of the young.

Among other magazines the pictorials are outstanding offenders with their displays of
indecency; but worst of all and most pernicious are the so-called comics where the young mind
can drink in detailed descriptions of every sin and perversion in the annals of crime.
 46

Meanwhile, the community is largely content with lip-protests against these conditions. As soon
as effective means are suggested to cope with the dissemination of moral poison and to promote
the more effective teaching of religion, small but very vocal groups raise exaggerated claims for
one liberty or another, insensitive to the much more important values that are in danger.
On the other hand what does youth find in those circles of the community which should be
expected to provide moral leadership? He sees prominent men in all walks of society leading
immoral lives. He finds that they suffer no stigma therefrom but are received with open arms
everywhere. He learns the callous doctrine that what succeeds is right. He observes that wealth
and power are above the law; crime if committed by important men goes unpunished.

We should not be surprised if in such circumstances young people listen with a certain cynicism
to exhortations to virtue, whether at home or at school. And it is not strange that there exists a
problem of juvenile delinquency; rather it is a wonder that it has been so long in gathering
momentum, and that it is not even greater than it is.

It is a consoling fact that in spite of this gloomy picture there is a solid mass of decent people in
the country who refuse to bow to the pernicious influences just described. And it is they who are
most alarmed at the deterioration of youth. Many of them are parents who try to provide a good,
wholesome home for their children, to supervise their activities outside the house, and by word
and example to cultivate in them a deep religious spirit. But their efforts are thwarted by the
dangerous impact of the world outside their homes, by influences from which their best and most
constant efforts cannot shield their children and against which they strive in vain to fortify them.
The remedies for juvenile delinquency are suggested by the very sources of the evil.

First, there must be a return to domestic virtues. The movement for the family rosary is a
step in the right direction. Parents must be impressed with the necessity of cultivating a genuine
home life in which the whole family participates. Fathers and mothers must endeavor to know,
supervise and to an extent share the recreation of their sons and daughters. Great care must be
exercised over the choice of companions.

Parental authority must be maintained and obedience insisted upon, lovingly but firmly,
with a condign punishment for disobedience. Children must be filled with a sense of
responsibility and of their vocation to play a role in human society, for which they have an
obligation to prepare themselves.

Cooperation must be given to school authorities, and parents must keep themselves
constantly informed of the conduct and application of their children at school. The state and all
social agencies must lose no opportunity of insisting on the sanctity of marriage and the nobility
of family life; that married life is something to be entered into carefully and prayerfully, since it
is a vocation to provide citizens for the kingdom of heaven.
 47

Every influence must be brought to bear to prevent rash, ill-considered marriages and the
unbridled promiscuity which inevitably occasions them.

Especially we call upon the government to take effective steps to control those agencies
of destruction: bad motion pictures and bad literature. These are protected by powerful vested
interests, deaf to the voice of conscience and the appeal of public decency. The Church, the
school and the home will make little progress against them unless the state awakens to its
obligation to safeguard its citizens, especially those who because of inexperience and weakness
are unable to protect themselves. But parents should not leave organized work exclusively to the
state and social agencies.

In many places in the world excellent results have been accomplished by the private
group action of families who refused any longer to stand idly by while theatres, newspapers,
newsstands, advertisers and other cardinal offenders in this matter worked to undermine the
virtue of their children. These parents united in their resistance to the evil and first directed
appeals to the offenders. When these failed, by the force of public opinion and other group
sanctions they obtained a hearing and remedy. Another obvious step is to raise the standard of
living among the poor, to provide employment, to pay decent wages, to make satisfactory
housing available.

All this will serve to alleviate the problem of juvenile delinquency. Though in general
the proportion of crime among the poor is not greater than among the rich, the causes among the
poor are more sharply economic and therefore admit more easily of an economic solution. There
must be a great advance in the quality and quantity of religious instruction. More children must
be given better instruction in their obligations to God and their duties as citizens.

The law of religious instruction must be effectively implemented. This means on the one
hand, that the government will not tolerate any efforts to sabotage its implementation, and on the
other hand, the Catholics must be ready to put themselves at the disposition of their parish priests
as teachers to provide this instruction. To these general measures, aimed at preventing the rise of
delinquency, must be added specific remedies for the problem as it actually exists.

Society must admit its obligations to the delinquent child and take a patient optimistic
interest in his adjustment. To this end, clubs, recreational centers, parks, and guidance centers
must be established and maintained. The official handling of youthful crime must avoid the two
errors of excessive leniency and excessive severity. Young men and women must be made to
understand that society will not tolerate attacks upon its well-being and existence from any
source, and that wrongdoing will receive a swift, just and suitable punishment.
 48

On the other hand, the official handling of youthful crime should take into consideration
the age of the offender, who should be tried by special courts, where the prevailing mood will be
paternal. The offenders will be shielded during the process from contact with hardened criminals
and other evil influences. Trained specialists should be employed to ascertain to what extent
physical and psychic causes contribute to the delinquency, so that proper remedies may be
provided. And finally by means of vocational training, apprentice programs and placement
bureaus, skillful, gainful and interesting occupations should be made possible for those for whom
idleness is the occasion of wrongdoing. In all remedies, general and specific, it cannot be too
often emphasized that religion must be the basis of all true reform. The most fundamental reason
why young people are delinquent is because they are offered no convincing reason for being
otherwise. Elders, who "say and do not", urge respectability and civic virtue-- a kind of
temperate sinfulness; but youth is not deceived by such hollow preaching. It is only the support
which sound religious doctrine and practise give to the voice of conscience, with the example of
Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother, which can hope to achieve any measure of success against
the violent tempests of adolescent rebellion.

The Hierarchy cannot end this statement without a word of warm praise for those persons
who, whether in government, civic and religious agencies or in their private capacity are
devoting themselves to the solution of this problem. We know that there are many public
officials and private citizens who are thoroughly alive to the menace of the evil and are
generously and unselfishly giving their time, talents and resources to its solution. It is certain
that they will receive an abundant reward from Him Who always showed His predilection for
youth. In summary, the following are pillars in determining the factors underlying juvenile
delinquency:

1) The Sociology of Delinquency (gleaning a synopsis of the “nature vs. nurture debate” and
other sociological analyses of the issue of juvenile delinquency)

2) Poverty and Other Predisposing Factors (presenting facts and myths in the area of what
factors, such as poverty and peer pressure, have presented challenges to children, predisposing
them toward at-risk status),

3) How Wayward Children are Treated (presenting some of the advantages and disadvantages of
the recently passed Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act RA #9344, as well as a partial presentation
of what NGOs and other institutions are doing to alleviate the challenge of juvenile
delinquency),

4) Who Are Children-At-Risk? (Presenting findings of children’s interaction with society, media,
divorce, tribal poverty, and familial poverty, as well as the finding of theorists such as Hirshi’s
Social Bond Theory, Lemert’s Labeling Theory, and Merton’s Dysfunctional Strain Theory)
 49

DIVERSION

Based on the abovementioned information, the diversion practice in the Philippines is limited by
the following factors:

The “official” diversion procedure is limited in its scope. Although diversion is provided
only under the Rules on Juveniles in Conflict with the Law issued by the Supreme Court and
only applicable to cases that reach the courts, diversion is widely practised across all pillars.

Officials from the community, law enforcement, prosecution and city social workers,
practise diversion in one form or another unofficially since there are no guidelines, rules or law
which provides for it, except for conciliation and mediation procedure in the community level
provided under the Katarungang Pambarangay Law.

In these instances, only children whose cases fall under an official who practises
unofficial diversion enjoy the benefit of diversion in general terms. The enjoyment of this benefit
by children becomes dependent on the personal practice of the official when the diversion is
unofficial.

Diversion under the Rules only covers offences where the maximum penalty imposed by
law is imprisonment of not more than six months. Due to this provision, only a limited number
of children are covered by diversion. As mentioned before, the common offences committed by
children involve crimes against property, persons and drug-related offences, offences that are
penalised by more than six months.

There are only a limited number of offences wherein the law imposes imprisonment of
not more than six months, ie, slight physical injuries, alarms and scandals, grave threats, unjust
vexation, and possession of a deadly arrow.

In addition, since the barangay conciliation system under the Katarungang Pambarangay Law
already covers offences punished by imprisonment of one year or less, which includes the
offences covered by diversion, only a limited number of cases reach the courts. The barangay
may have already successfully mediated the cases that are covered by diversion. As discussed in
the chapter on observance of laws of the court and prosecution, there are Family Courts that
apply the diversion process even though the case is not covered by diversion under the Rules.

When asked if the respondents agree that all children should be diverted from the criminal justice
system, most of the respondents said that it depends on certain factors. They mentioned as one of
the factors the nature or gravity of the offence. Several of the respondents said that children
should not be diverted if the crime involves rape or murder.
 50

Considering their views as to what constitutes offences that should not be covered by diversion,
the coverage provided for under the Rules is too restrictive to benefit the majority of the children
in conflict with the law.

Diversion under the Rules is limited to cases wherein the complaint or information is filed with
the Family Courts. In areas where there are no designated Family Courts, children in conflict
with the law whose cases are filed in the Regional Trial Courts are excluded from availing of the
benefits of diversion. Diversion programme under the Rules may include community-based
programmes or work-detail programmes in the community.

The choice of the Committee in designing a diversion programme may already be limited
since there is an absence of community-based programmes or work detailed programmes
designed to address the needs of children in conflict with the law. Even though the creation of a
BCPC has been encouraged since 1974, only a limited number of barangays have established
such and even if established, its effectivity is questioned.

The communities and its officials need to receive sensitivity and skills training in dealing
with children in conflict with the law.

Under the Rules, the Committee may only recommend diversion if the complainant does
not object thereto. When diversion is subjected to the consent of the complainant, there will be
children unable to avail of it due to the desire of some complainants for revenge, punishment, or
to teach the child a lesson by pushing for trial and/or imprisonment of the child.

For example, there are department stores or malls which do not permit settlement of cases
and has a policy of proceeding with the prosecution of cases, regardless of the amount of the
item stolen and even if the offender is a child.
 51

CHAPTER V

RECOMMENDATIONS

This study puts forward the following recommendations for each of the five pillars of justice in
terms of changing perceptions and attitudes, enhancing knowledge and skills, improving
practice, and working collaboratively towards the prevention of offending among children,
protection of CICL who are in the justice system, and facilitating the CICL’s return to their
families and communities as viable and productive members.

Community Level

1. Promote understanding within the communities of the rights of CICL, the concept of
restorative justice, diversion, the damaging effects of subjecting children under the criminal
justice system (eg, prosecution, custody and detention) and the important role that the
community plays in the promotion of rights and prevention of crime by children. This can be
done, through advocacy and training seminars as well as information drives on laws and studies
concerning CICL.

a. Special focus should be given to parents who should be educated, be made aware and be
made to appreciate child rights. There are cases where parents themselves ask jail officials to
keep their children in detention for “safekeeping” to prevent their children from getting into
trouble.

b. Special training should also be given to barangay officials because many of the officers are
not familiar with laws on CICL. One manifestation is that compared with police officers, a lesser
number of barangay tanods comply with the laws when arresting children. Perhaps this may be
attributed to the fact that they are the ones least trained on children’s rights. The barangay
officials actually perform three important roles when dealing with CICL. First, they have the
authority to enact ordinances relevant to children. Second, having the power and authority to
maintain peace and order in the barangay, they act as law enforcers and can arrest CICL. Third,
they are the ones who are tasked to implement existing programs in the community when CICL
return to the community.

c. There must be advocacy movements for the establishment of a working BCPCs and
cooperation of the leaders in the barangay must be obtained. Barangay residents and officials
must be made aware of existing mechanisms within the barangay level, which they could use to
protect CICL.
 52

d. Barangays with existing BCPCs should be monitored so that even on the event of change
of leadership (ie, through an election), the continuing existence of BCPCs is ensured.

e. All pillars refer to the community as the level where diversion should occur. The
community must be able to take on this role with appropriate training on not only laws but also
principles and sensitivity to children. Existing mechanisms such as the Barangay Justice System
may be used to promote the practice of diversion of children within the community level. It
addition, the criminal jurisdiction of the Barangay Justice System covers criminal offences where
the penalty does not exceed one year imprisonment or a fine of Php5,000.

Thus, it even has wider diversionable offences compared with the Rule on Juvenile in
Conflict with the Law which provides that only those with penalty of maximum of six months or
a fine, regardless of the amount can be diverted. 2. Interventions should be made to promote
local legislations concerning protection for CICL as well as correct existing ones and prevent
enactment of those disadvantageous to CICL. Specifically, the following are recommended:

a. Training of local legislators on pertinent international instruments and national laws and
rules relevant to children’s rights to ensure that ordinances to be enacted are consistent
with the principles, policies and procedures embodied therein. This may also serve as the
venue to orient local legislators on guiding principles on the proper determination and
graduation of penalties that take into consideration the special circumstances of children;

b. Training and drafting of ordinances both at the barangay and city level, with focus on the
constitutional requirements;

c. Creation of venues, ie, seminars, roundtable discussions, where local legislators, local
city and barangay officials and child rights activities from different cities may share
experiences on the implementation of ordinances. This shall serve as potent venues to
learn the better practices form cities and barangays that enact and implement more child-
friendly ordinances;

d. Prevention of further detention and imprisonment of children and ensure their uniform
treatment across cities and barangays. There should be decriminalisation of ordinances
nation-wide if children commit violations. This is consistent with the non-discrimination
principle as provided in the UN CRC; and e. City and barangay officials should provide
for alternative disposition measures to imprisonment as penalties for infractions, taking as
an example such measures under the Rule on Juvenile in Conflict with the law.

2. The community should be made aware for the need to set up appropriate programmes for
crime prevention and assist children with behavioural problems. There should also exist
proper community-based sentencing and restorative justice for CICL.
 53

Such community-based sentencing as provided in the New Rule must be specifically identified
and made sure to be child-appropriate. The barangays should also have programmes for
reintegration and rehabilitation of CICL in the community. 4. Institutional support for the
realisation of Diversion Programmes as provided in the New Rule is also recommended. This can
also be done by informing the DILG of the existence of the New Rule providing for such
measures and advocate for them to take action for the immediate establishment of community-
based programmes and work-detail programmes in the community.

Correction Level/ BJMP

1. Prioritise the allocation of resources on the national budget to answer problems on:

(a.) Subhuman conditions in jails and detention, eg, lack of proper beds and beddings, cramped
cells, Php 30/day as food allowance; and

(b.) Conditions that are detrimental to the well-being of a CICL, eg, lack of separate cells for
detained child and convicted CICL and/or separate cells for women adults and female CICL, not
all CICL are given the opportunity for continuing education.

2. Discussion on how to realistically apply the administrative circular issued by the Supreme
Court on jail visitation by family court judges. Probation 1. In the application of probation, there
is no difference between the supervision of CICL and the adult offenders. There must be rules
and regulations requiring special treatment of CICL probation applicants.

3. There are no separate facilities for instruction/ recreation and residence for the CICL. It is
recommended that budget be allocated for establishing a separate place and facilities
especially for CICLs.

4. Data on CICLs who applied for probation were not segregated and presented according to the
age of the applicant at the time of the commission of the offence. Hence, there is no way of
tracing cases of probationers who were minors at the time of commission of the offence,
aggravated by the insufficient centralised system of monitoring and recording cases of
children in conflict with the law, from the time of their arrest up to the time of release or
service of sentence.
 54

Law Enforcement

1. Training on child sensitivity, laws on CICL, diversion proceedings and restorative justice must
be given not only to members of the WCCD but to all police officers. Usually, first encounter
with the law enforcement is through arrest of the child by a police officer. It is only after the
arrested child is referred to the WCCD that such WCCD police are able to deal with CICL.

2. Recommend the inclusion of children’s issues in mandatory courses and continuing legal
education required of police officers.

3. There must be accountability for police officers in case of lack of compliance with the
provision of the law particularly during arrest of children. For example, there are still prevalent
violations such as instances wherein the police do not identify themselves and explain the rights
of the child during arrests, or conduct investigations without counsel for the child.

4. There must be separate quarters for detained children and detained adults at the police
precinct.

5. There must be separate records for children. Prosecution and Court Level 1. There should be
continuing training and education on application of the Rules on Summary Procedure and the
Rule on Juveniles in Conflict with the Law. Special trainings should also be made on
Diversion Proceedings in the New Rules, as this procedure is very new in the Philippine
court system.

Guidelines should be provided for its implementation. Research could be made as to the practice
of diversion in other jurisdictions and how these good practices can be integrated in the
Philippine system. A proposal is also made to include topics on children’s justice during
Mandatory Continuing Legal Education required of law practitioners as well as seminars
required of judges.

There is still a need to conduct further sensitivity sessions with court officers. There are instances
where terms like vagrants, juvenile delinquents are still being used on CICL. It should also be
noted that even the new Rules on Juvenile in Conflict with the Law used the terms juvenile
delinquent.

Diversion proceeding under the New Rule applies only to the CICL charged with an offence
punishable by imprisonment for a maximum period of not more than six 6 months, or if the
penalty is a fine, regardless of amount. Many CICL cannot avail of the proceedings because there
are very few diversionable offences existing under Philippine laws.
 55

It is recommended that the New Rules be amended for the Diversion Proceedings to apply to
crimes with higher penalty.

The Diversion Proceedings under the New Rule contemplates a proceeding done within the
formal justice system. Before a child is qualified for diversion, it presupposes an information or
complaint is first filed against him or her in the Family Court. In each Family Court, there exists
a Diversion Committee, composed of its branch clerk of court as chairperson, the prosecutor, a
lawyer of the Public Attorney’s Office and social worker assigned by the Family Court – all of
which are members of court personnel.

During the diversion conference, the counsels of the child in conflict with the law as well as that
of the private complainant are also present. It is recommended to create diversion proceedings
for CICL outside the court pillar, eg, amendment of the Katarungang Pambarangay Law and
inclusion of diversion proceedings at the barangay level.

The Probation Office must be required to compile separate data on CICL, including pertinent
information on them. City Social Workers. Even if the law provides immediate turnover of the
child to the DSWD or local rehabilitation centre, there are instances wherein the child has to
spend days in the jails in the police precincts after their arrest.

One way this may be prevented is for the city social workers to conduct daily visits in police
precincts. It is also recommended that city social workers strengthen their coordination with law
enforces to ensure that upon arrest/apprehension of the CICL, they will be immediately
informed. Most city social workers get involved only during the trial, detention, rehabilitation
and release stages of the CICL cases. Social workers should be present during all stages from the
time of arrest up to the follow-through activities after the release of the child.

For all Pillars

There is a need to examine how the national and local governments allocate resources on
children’s issues, programmes and policies. The Philippines already have several existing laws
that sufficiently address child protection but there are problems in terms of enforcement because
of lack of budget for implementation. The lack of budget does not necessarily follow the lack of
resources. Reasons could be that other issues (eg, terrorism) are given more priority during
allocation of budget by the government.
 56

CONCLUSION

Factors contributing to delinquency are thus to be found not only in the mental and
physical make-up of the individual, but also in his present and past environments. Unwholesome
influences and difficult situations encountered in early childhood are probably as important
causal factors of delinquency as are present conditions. They may even be more important. In
searching for the root causes in any given case of delinquency, prior to treatment, it is therefore
absolutely necessary to make a thorough investigation of the past and present life of the
individual and of his mental and physical make-up.

It is probable that this cannot be undertaken by one person; for it will involve making an
extensive survey of past and present home conditions, past and present school, neighborhood,
and occupational conditions, besides making complete mental and physical examinations of the
case. These latter also include delving into the earlier life of the individual. A case cannot be
treated in a satisfactory manner without adequate knowledge of the causes of the trouble, and this
cannot be obtained in a short interview with the young offender, nor in any number of interviews
with him alone.

The increased suggestibility of an individual in a group of people is one of the most

striking features of "mob psychology." Further, if the group be banded together for any set
purpose the individual members become more suggestible to thoughts or actions bearing any
connection with the aim of the group.

For instance, if a gang be formed for the purpose of playing practical jokes any
mischievous suggestion from one of the number will be quickly taken up by the others and
eventually serious delinquencies may be committed. A boy in a gang, as Puffer and others have
pointed out, will be led to participate in crimes the very thought of which he might shrink from
when alone.

Not only is suggestibility increased by the presence of the gang, but sense of
responsibility and power of self-control are diminshed, thus examples and suggestions most
readily followed by a gang are those of a crude and instinctive nature. It is quite possible for a
group, whose original intentions were quite harmless, to develop into an unruly and dangerous
gang. Obviously, still more dangerous is a gang banded together for the express purpose of law-
breaking, stealing, or making "hold ups," such as are found in large cities. On the other hand, a
gang develops virtues such as loyalty and cooperation which may be cultivated for social benefit
as is done in the boy scouts, girl guides, and so, forth.
 57

The feeling side of a child's personality needs proper nourishment for healthy
development just as his body does. The child who is deprived of sympathy and affectionate
attention at home misses his first example and training in good fellowship, kindness and
consideration for others.

He misses the momentary relief and rest from personal responsibility so refreshing and
necessary if he is to take on his share of social responsibility, as a child among his playmates and
later on as an adult. He misses the sympathy that helps him to bear his adversities bravely. He
misses encouragement to effort and to a renewed confidence in himself. He misses the relief
from the emotional strain of social contacts and the balm of personal comfort. He misses also the
objective stimulus to draw his attention out from himself and towards some loved and
affectionately responsive person, preferably mother or father and so ultimately towards the world
at large.

Just as lack of recreational facilities in school leave a child practically no socially

desirable outlet for, and means of discipline for normal or abnormal impulses during school
hours, so lack of similar facilities in the neighborhood presents the same and even greater
difficulty for out-of-school hours.

Investigators have shown us that crimes are mostly committed in spare time, that is, time
spent away from school or work. It is therefore considerably more serious for a child to live in a
neighborhood without play-ground space, clubs, or game facilities of any kind, than it is for him
to attend a school deficient in the same respects. Although, as has previously been shown, this
latter deficiency may have serious enough consequences itself. Any and all kinds of delinquency
may result from lack of recreational facilities.

A history of the case must be compiled from many sources, for no one person can see all
of the truth, neither mother, teacher, employer nor the delinquent himself, and statementd may
not always be correct. Lastly, it cannot be too much emphasized that the factors described in this
outline are only part causes of delinquency.

Probably none of them alone would produce delinquency. The cause always lies in a
combination of factors, and no two combinations are found to be alike. Mental defect, for
instance, is not a cause of delinquency, but it may be a causal factor along with a strong ego
instinct, emotional instability and lack of suitable training in school. It may also be a causal
factor in combination with a spirit of adventure, lack of fear, and inadequate play facilities; or in
an immense variety of other combinations. Mental defect, moreover, is not always a contributory
factor in delinquency, nor is any other single factor. The combinations of causal factors which
lead to delinquency are many and diverse.
 58

Congested neighborhoods and slums may cause delinquency for the same reason that
overcrowded homes and schoolrooms may do. Slums may include additional causative factors
such as bad safiitation, damp, dark and badly ventilated houses, proximity of smoky, smelling
factories and noisy machinery, and the close contact with undesirable neighbors, perhaps
immoral and delinquent. Children are not so likely to get into bad mischief while they are alone,
but when they get together in gangs as they do in congested neighborhoods, they become
fortified by mutual suppost and are ready to dare anything. The influence of a gang is further
considered under separate heading.

Among juvenile offenders many have been found to be ardent frequenters of movies and
vaudeville shows. Judge Hbffmann of Cincinnati considers these latter to be very powerful
factors in the deterfnination of juvenile crime. It is thought that shows and movies stimulate the
children's primitive instincts for adventure, conquest, acquisition, etc.; and that many of them
offer suggestions for active expression of these instincts along delinquent lines, which may be
carried out later by the children. Some children's minds may be too immature to distinguish
between the lawful and the unlawful, the moral and the immoral of what they see enacted before
them; thus, should they copy what they see, they may be led to commit social offenses
unwittingly. Others, who are old enough to distinguish between right and wrong, may be urged to
delinquency by the excitement aroused within them and the daring suggestions offered by the
show. On the other hand, movies and shows offer many suggestions for socially desirable
behavior which are presented in such a manner that they are more likely to take effect than the
bad suggestions. It is possible also that witnessing an exciting show may be a good substitute for
primitive instinctive and emotional activity and in some cases may be a curative measure rather
than a cause of delinquency.

In the present study all the offenders are in the age group of 15-18 years, which is
categorized as the adolescent age. In a community the adolescent age is between 14-18 years,
and it is the age in which the children have committed the offences such as theft, murder, rape,
smoking, and drinking. Further than the incontestable changes and growth of adolescent,
biologically and psychologically, adolescence presents three essential features such as
development of self-consciousness, asserting their identity, social integration. A sense of right
and wrong, normative and motivational, oriented to deny and reject the adult models and search
their own models which reflects the instable personality of a teenager. It is not only the
individual factor which is responsible for delinquency or crime rather it is the multi-dimensional
factors which are responsible for delinquency. Wellford (1989) viewed that due to the complexity
of human conduct and the various multi-cause factors, the best way to progress in the field of
criminology is through the combination of multi-level, multidisciplinary factors, where the
multi-level factor involves the micro-level and macrolevel. The interaction of a child within the
family has also a greater influence on delinquency.