The Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 defines more precisely the term child; a child is any human being below the age of eighteen years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier. The idea, through this definition and all the texts concerning child welfare, is that the child is a human being with rights and dignity. What characterizes the child; it is his youth and vulnerability. Indeed, the child is growing, a future adult, who has no means to protect himself. So, the child has to be the object of a particular interest and a specific protection. [1]
It is to be recalled that last year 2013, the Philippine Legislature has made a significant move in enhancing the after care and rehabilitation program for Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) through Republic Act 1063, an Act Strengthening the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 amending for the purpose Republic Act 9344. The RA 10630 is a huge gateway to the dream of every CICL to pursue their goals for higher education and become a responsible member of society. That childish dream is now being threatened by the current proposed amendment of the DOJ to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility, without giving Republic Act 10630 the opportunity to be effectively implemented, and in further deference to the human rights of children guaranteed not only by the Philippines Constitution but also by the United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international human rights treaties that the Philippines have ratified. [2]
Children in poverty fight to traverse a dangerous landscape every day. Children do not select their families. Children are unable to choose where they live and what kind of education they can afford. Children do not have the ability to decide on their socio-economic status. But when they step inside a courtroom, the consequences from all of these variables come weighing down on their shoulders with the swift stroke of a gavel. This is the end result of a life with little-to-no options that many CICLs faced before 2006. [3]
Prison sentences are finite but their effects aren't. Our communities will eventually have to face these broken children when they are released back into society as broken adults. Rehabilitation is not the goal of a prison cell. We need to move forward with the full implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act of 2006 to ensure that the core needs of CICLs are addressed. These children need to be reformed and reintegrated as productive citizens Criminal acts cost the Philippines unknown millions of pesos in incarceration costs, and bring lost human capital, lost talent, lost labor, and losses to victims. Rehabilitative measures for our youth, as established under the original Juvenile Justice Act of 2006, have the potential to restore these millions to the public sphere. Allow this potential to be realized. [4]
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