INTRODUCTION

Children are the priceless gift from God and are the

treasure of one family. The family and the community have the

primal role in shaping the totality of these children. However,

due some circumstances some children deviate from the standard

norms and become in conflict with the promulgated laws. Children

are vulnerable to many forms of abuses, and therefore, it is

essential to keep the best interests for children who come into

contact or conflict with the law among the policy-making body

(Khan and Rahman, 2009).

Many young people today, traditional patterns guiding the

relationship and transitions between family, school and work are

being challenged. Social relations that ensure a smooth process

of socialization are collapsing; lifestyle trajectories are

becoming more varied and less predictable. The restructuring of

the labor market, the extension of the maturity gap (the period

of dependence of young adults on the family) and, arguably, the

more limited opportunities to become an independent adult are

all changes influencing relationships with family and friends,

educational opportunities and choices, labor market

participation, leisure activities and lifestyles. It is not only

the developed countries that are facing this situation; in

developing countries as well there are new pressures on young

people undergoing the transition from childhood to independence.

Rapid population growth, the unavailability of housing and

support services, poverty, unemployment and underemployment

among youth, the decline in the authority of local communities,

overcrowding in poor urban areas, the disintegration of the

family, and ineffective educational systems are some of the

pressures young people must deal with (Aviola, 2012).

Like what Jose Rizal, our national hero once said that,

“The children are the future of our nation”. In consonance with

this ideal of good society, our national legislations provide

measures and acts relevant to the protection of the rights of

Filipino children. In observance of State policies, the State

recognizes the vital role of children and youth in nation

building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral

spiritual, intellectual and social well-being. It shall

inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism and encourage

their involvement in public and civic affairs. People started to

appreciate their children which led to the invention of

childhood and love (Manwong, 2008, p.115).

The State shall protect the best interest of the child

through measures that will ensure the observance on

international standards of child protection. The 1987 Philippine

Constitution has mandated the State, based on Section 3 Article

XV “the obligation to defend the Rights of children to

assistance, including proper care and nutrition and special

protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty,

exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their

development”. Furthermore, this section affirms the recognition

of the State of “the vital role of the Youth in nation-building

and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual,

intellectual and social well-being.”

Moreover, Presidential Decree 603 of 1977 as amended or the

‘Child and Youth Welfare Code’, spelled out the intent of the

Constitution to protect and promote the interest and welfare of

one of the nation’s most important assets – children and youth.

This Code made clear that ‘the best interest of children shall

be the paramount consideration’ in all actions in their behalf

by everyone concerned. As it outlines the rights and

responsibilities of the children, the Code asserted that the

State should exert all efforts necessary to promote and enhance

the welfare of children in the Philippines.

The social problem of aggressive behaviour has become a

very pressing issue in modern life. Regular media coverage about

young people ‘acting out’ and committing violent acts is just

one of many examples of the increased interest (Halsley and

White 2008). Additionally, youth crime and particularly

aggressive acts committed by young people continue to be a topic

of debates amongst professionals and policy makers regarding

appropriate ways of dealing with it.

Meanwhile, In the United States, the age varies

between states, being as low as six years in South Carolina and

seven years in 35 states; 11 years is the minimum age for

federal crimes. States have laws that protect children and

adolescents from being tried in adult criminal courts and that

limit the use of harsh sentences for crimes committed as

juveniles. California state law stipulates that a young person

must be at least 14 years of age in order to be charged as an

adult in criminal court (California State Legislature, 2000).

However, despite the recent upsurge of reform efforts focused on

protecting minors from adult criminal proceedings, relatively

little attention has been paid to children in the juvenile

justice system.

Juvenile justice is a technical term that refers to the

specific area of law and affiliated institutions, most notably

the juvenile court, with jurisdiction over the cases of minors

who are accused of being miscreants. Although the idea that the

law should treat minors differently from adults predates the

American Revolution, juvenile justice itself is a Progressive

Era invention. Its institutional legitimacy rests on the power

and responsibility of the state to act as a parent (parens

patriae) on behalf of those who cannot care for themselves.

Since the establishment of the world’s first juvenile court in

Chicago in 1899, this American idea of creating separate justice

systems for juveniles has spread across the nation and much of

the world. For more than a century, American states have used

their juvenile justice systems to respond to youth crime and

delinquency. Since the 1960s, the US Supreme Court has

periodically considered whether juvenile courts must provide the

same constitutional due process safeguards as adult criminal

courts and whether juveniles prosecuted in the criminal justice

system can receive the same sentences as adults, such as the

death penalty or life without the possibility of parole.

Additionally, In the 1950s and the 1960s, many came to

question the ability of the American juvenile courts to succeed

in rehabilitating delinquent youths. It appeared that the

treatment technique available to juvenile justice professionals

never reached the desired levels of effectiveness (National

Criminal Justice Reference Service [NCJRS], 1999). The

enlightened legal systems established in the earlier part of the

18th century had distinguished between juvenile delinquents and

adult criminals, however, the punishments of juvenile offenders

was still severe up to the 19th century (Manwong, 2008, p. 115).

 Juvenile justice system operates under a different set of

standards than the adult criminal justice system. In order to

make distinctions between the actions undertaken by minors and

the crimes committed by adults, the two methods of dispensing

justice are completely separate from one another, under the

current system. Court hearings for juveniles are conducted

outside the mainstream adult system, and other rehabilitation

services also stem from independent juvenile providers. In

general, the system recognizes the differences between adults

and juveniles, assigning less accountability for juveniles

committing crimes. In addition to their past actions, minors are

viewed through a different lens, in terms of their ability to be

rehabilitated in the future. State juvenile programs widely

accept that younger offenders have greater potential to change

than their adult counterparts do, so the system accommodates a

reform-based viewpoint for minors.

At present in California, there is no law that protects

children from being charged and processed in the juvenile

justice system. Indeed, children can be subject to formal

processing in juvenile court, including detention and

confinement, a process that research and best practices would

suggest is counter to the standard of the “best interests of the

child.” The “best interests of the child” is one of the founding

principles of the US juvenile justice system and is the

operating standard in child welfare law and in the United

Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (United States

Children's Bureau, 2012; United Nations General Assembly, 1989).

The American juvenile justice system is the primary system used

to handle youth who are convicted of criminal offenses. The

juvenile justice system intervenes in delinquent behavior

through police, court, and correctional involvement, with the

goal of rehabilitation. Youth and their guardians can face a

variety of consequences including probation, community

service, youth court, youth incarceration and alternative

schooling. The juvenile justice system, similar to the adult

system, operates from a belief that intervening early in

delinquent behavior will deter adolescents from engaging in

criminal behavior as adults.

In Asian countries, juvenile crime and delinquency are

largely urban phenomena. According to statistics, most young

people constitute the criminally active segment of the

population. The most noticeable trends in the region are the

rise in the number of violent acts committed by young people,

the increase in drug-related offenses, and the marked growth in

female juvenile delinquency (World Youth Report, 2003).

 The Scottish legal system of youth justice has always been

separate from the other UK jurisdictions and the 1960s marked a

distinct departure from a court-based to a tribunal system of

youth justice founded on principles of child welfare. A

widespread review by the Kilbrandon Committee (1964) concluded

that offending and other forms of troublesome behaviour during

childhood were manifestations of deeper rooted problems at both

the individual and familial level and that young people should

be dealt with on the basis of their ‘needs’ and not their

‘deeds’. In a radical move, the Committee recommended the

establishment of a single agency to deal with all children,

whether they were referred on offending or broader care and

protection grounds, with the best interests of the child

paramount in the agency’s decision-making process. The

Kilbrandon Committee’s proposals were widely supported by the

key elites within government and criminal justice institutions,

and reflected a strong tradition of democracy within Scottish

civic culture (McAra, 2005).

The Social Work (Scotland) Act, 1968 placed welfare firmly

at the centre of criminal justice by replacing probation

officers with social workers and abolishing juvenile courts. The

new ‘children’s hearings system’ in 1971 took the form of an

informal tribunal involving three lay panel members (trained

volunteers from 3 the same communities as the young people

themselves) and an officiating Children’s Reporter (usually with

a social work or legal background). Children up to age 17 could

be referred to a hearing, along with their parents, a social

worker and other relevant professionals (although hearings for

16 and 17 year olds are rare). The holistic needs of the child

were prioritized, regardless of their grounds of referral, and

decisions were premised on principles of early and minimal

intervention, with a view to avoiding criminalization and

stigmatization. The hearings system precluded a role for the

victim on the basis that most children referred were also

victims, either of crime or circumstance.

Furthermore, a change of government in 2007 signalled a new

chapter in Scottish youth justice history. The Scottish

Nationalists adopted a more measured approach to policy

development and, 4 consequently, the most recent framework for

action Preventing Offending by Young People (Scottish

Government, 2008) contains a more convincing commitment to early

and holistic intervention and the principles of the United

Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Nevertheless, this framework continues to reflect a shift

in ethos away from a primarily welfare-based system to one

governed by an eclectic set of rationales, strongly influenced

by principles of public protection and risk management (McAra &

McVie, 2010). A key source of concern is that programmes aimed

at behavioural change, which focus on criminogenic, rather than

general welfare, may criminalise and stigmatise young people.

The age of criminal responsibility in Scotland is currently

eight years; however age of criminal prosecution was raised to

12 in 2010. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland the age of

responsibility is ten years and in the Netherlands and Canada,

the age of responsibility is twelve years. Sweden, Finland,

and Norway all set the age at fifteen years.

As the treaty parties of the Rome Statute of

the International Criminal Court could not agree on a minimum

age for criminal responsibility, they chose to solve the

question procedurally and excluded the jurisdiction of the Court

for persons under eighteen years.

Some countries refuse to set a fixed minimum age, but leave

discretion to prosecutors to argue or the judges to rule on

whether the child or adolescent ("juvenile") defendant

understood that what was being done was wrong. If the defendant

did not understand the difference between right and wrong, it

may not be considered appropriate to treat such a person

as culpable. Alternatively, the lack of real fault in the

offender can be recognized by rulings that dispense mitigated

criminal sentences or address more practical matters of parental

responsibility by adjusting the rights of parents to

unsupervised custody, or by separate criminal proceedings

against the parents for breach of their duties as parents.

In the Philippines, where the plight of majority of the

poor remains largely unaddressed, many places become breeding

grounds for youth offenders. While many of these children were

able to rise from the rut, proving that poverty isn’t a

justifiable excuse for committing crime, thousands of other

juveniles have failed to get out of the trap and are forced to

break the law primarily to survive.

As a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the

Child and recognizing the seriousness of the problem on children

in conflict with the law, the Philippine juvenile justice system

underwent numerous improvements. According to UNICEF, creating a

juvenile justice system that meets the special needs of children

in conflict with the law is one of the Philippines unfinished

business as a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of a

Child (Nwanko, 2011).

The Philippines guarantees the protection of the best

interests of the child in accordance with the standards provided

for by these international laws. Members of Congress had passed

bills intended to make laws more consistent with the

Philippines’ advocacy on juvenile justice. As much as the

Philippines should be concerned with a juvenile justice system

in harmony with international policies, the dominant goal is to

achieve a standard national policy on CICL rather than an

accurate reproduction of an international model on CICL. R.A.

No. 9344, one bill passed into law, institutionalized the

promotion of the well-being of child and their families,

involvement of parents and guardians, promotion of diversion,

avoiding deprivation of liberty and protecting the privacy

rights of children. R.A. No. 10630 further emphasized child-

sensitive justice policies focused on the best interest of the

child. This principle has been first laid down in the Doha

Declaration.

In the article, Tito Sotto files bill lowering age of

criminal liability, MANILA, Philippines — Senate President

Vicente Sotto III is pushing for the lowering of the age of

criminal responsibility to 12 years and one day. Sotto filed

Senate Bill 2026 seeking to amend Republic Act 9344 or the

Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which exempts children

aged 15 and below from criminal liability. “This bill will

finally give clarity to the true intention of the law.

Sotto said the average minimum age of criminal responsibility in

Asia and Africa is 11. In the US and Europe, it is 13. In his

explanatory note to the bill, Sotto said that due to the

continuing challenge in the implementation of RA 9344, as

amended, the law must be further amended to lower the minimum

age of criminal liability in order to adapt to the changing

times. Under the bill, children aged over nine to 12 years who

committed serious crimes such as parricide, murder, infanticide,

kidnapping and homicide are deemed neglected children as

provided under Presidential Decree 603 or the Child and Youth

Welfare Code as amended. They will be placed in a special

facility within the youth care faculty or Bahay Pag-asa. Sotto

said he would ensure adequate funding in the proposed 2019

national budget for the upgrading and construction of new youth

care facilities.

Moreover in the article, “DOJ earmarks P10 M for juvenile

offenders’ center in Baguio City” in the Cordillera

Administrative Region (CAR) , the city government, welcomed the

Department of Justice’s (DOJ) initiative to earn mark P10

million for the establishment of a Bahay Pag-asa which will

address the problems of, and address issues concerning children-

in-conflict with the law. Councilor Leandro Yangot Jr., one of

the proponents of the resolution that requested for the project,

said the City Council approved a resolution requesting the

Juvenile Justice Welfare Council through its Executive Director,

lawyer Tricia Claire Oco, to fund the immediate establishment of

a Bahay Pag-asa in the city. He said the DOJ is only awaiting

the decision of the city government on the possible site for the

Bahay Pag-asa. The resolution stated that the establishment of

appropriate services for children at the local level is of vital

importance to confront issues regarding child offenders, thus,

it is timely for the passage of the resolution so as to prepare

the community and society in general, on the provision of

rehabilitation programs for children in conflict with the law.

In 2006, the Philippines adopted Republic Act (RA) No. 10630,

otherwise known as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006,

which provides for the establishment of a Bahay Pag-asa in every

local government around the country. Under the new law, a

Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council will be responsible for

coordinating the implementation of the new features of the

landmark child protection law, the first of its kind in Asia.

Yangot explained that the Bahay Pag-asa is referred to as a 24-

hour child-caring institution established, funded and managed by

local government units and accredited non-government

organizations providing temporary residential care for children

in conflict with the law.

 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Study aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the advantage and disadvantage of Republic Act

9344? As to:

A) Age of criminal responsibility.

B) Initial contact with the Child in Conflict with Law

(CICL).

C) Treatment of children below the age of criminal

responsibility.
 D) Age of criminal responsibility.

Youth offenders are getting younger, bolder and braver.

From petty street crimes, they are now figuring in heinous

crimes that would send them to jail for life, or worse, join the

death row. This is because of their knowledge that they will

eventually be set free or turned over to the Department of

Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Republic Act No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare

Act of 2006, SEC. 6.Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility. A

child fifteen (15) years of age or under at the time of the

commission of the offense and a child above fifteen (15) years

but below eighteen (18) years of age shall be exempt from

criminal liability. However, the child shall be subjected to an

intervention program, unless he/she has acted with discernment,

in which case, such child shall be subjected to the appropriate

proceedings.

The advantage of this to the child who is under the age of

criminal responsibility will be given a chance to be better or

improve her/his life. It will help the children to build their

spirits in fighting their rights as provided by the Law. They

will enjoy all the benefits of this law until such time most of

them recover from all their failures, and stand to live their

life harmony and love from their parents, relatives, government

and supporters. It will improve and established the failures and

restorative justice rather than punitive they undergo for the

intervention program. The positive effects of the child who

acted with discernment is that the child shall be subjected to

the appropriate proceedings, provide procedural rules and to

remove from children in conflict with the law the stigma of

criminality and criminal behavior.

Furthermore, one of the most controversial issues in the

country today is the lowering of the minimum age of criminal

responsibility. The legislature seeks to lower the minimum age

criminal responsibility from 15 to 12 in which the positive

effects of this are the law enforcers find it acceptable because it

will suppress the increasing crime incidents involving minors.

It helps in lowering the number of juvenile criminals.

Adolescents who are aware that they will be punished for crimes

will mostly likely not commit them. They can be even more

discouraged to attempt any criminal activity when they find out

how their peers were punished.

Additionally, it gives justice to the victims and their

loved ones. There may be some offenses that are forgive-able,

but for extreme cases like murder, just punishment must be given

to the offender. It is a way for a victim’s family to gain some

peace or reconciliation, especially since they cannot get their

loved one who was taken from them back. I t s h o w s t h a t a

crime no matter your age. Giving a lighter sentence

to adolescents who committed an extreme crime just

because they are not yet adults can send the wrong

message that they can get away with certain things,

even taking another person’s life. No matter what age

someone is, they must learn to take responsibility

for their actions and be made to understand the

consequences of bad decisions. If teenagers are not

taught right from wrong before they transition to

adults, they have a higher tendency to commit more

c r i m e s . It will improve the community by keeping it safe for

everyone and it will force the parents to pay more attention to

their kids.

However the disadvantage of age of criminal responsibility

is that it encourages criminal gangs to recruit young people,

knowing that instead of going to jail, the kids that works for

them and commit crimes will be released to a social worker

instead of going to jail.

It is also observed that the criminality rates of the

Philippines have increased, and most of the criminals are

children who are minors. In some cases, the suspects are the
same because they will only go in and out from imprisonment in

which it triggers the safety and security of the community.

It puts adolescent offenders at risk. Adult

prisons are places where juveniles can be easily

abused and harmed. They can also be exposed to more

crime and join gangs (which are common in adult

correctional facilities), becoming even more hardened

criminals. It can be taken as a sign of lost hope.

Young offenders could take it as a message that they

have no future and no hope of becoming something else

other than a criminal. This is damaging to the

juveniles and to their families. It gives parents a

message that they can take less responsibility.

Parents should teach their children right from wrong

and should shoulder some responsibility for the

actions of their kids. By sending adolescents to

jail, parents can be let off the hook.

B ) Initial contact with the Child in Conflict with Law (CICL).

The police role is considered especially important because

young persons’ views and attitudes toward law enforcement are

shaped by their first encounter with a police officer. Police

interact with juveniles in many ways. Street level patrol

officers interact with many youth, who are suspects and victims,
only a fraction of who are formally processed into the juvenile

justice system. These interactions occur either as police

respond to dispatched calls for police service or as police

initiate encounters with youth, who may or may not be involved

in mischief, during the work day.

The children is being protected against probable abuses, it

keeps young people from being put in jail for long periods of

time with adult criminals. The police Officer ensure their

safety

The disadvantage of the initial contact with the child in

conflict with the law are Juveniles present a special problem

for police because they are less cognizant of the consequences

of their actions and the effects of their delinquent behavior on

their victims, their parents and families, their peers, and

themselves. Police officers themselves often create a risk

factor for crime by using “bad manners, some juveniles shows

disrespect to the police officers and young people react to how

police officers treat them, especially when officers often

respond in kind to juveniles’ disrespectful behavior and the

inevitable result of police officers’ fair but unpopular

restrictions on young peoples’ behaviors.

Additionally, police contact influence youth attitudes and

perceptions toward law enforcement, youths who have more contact

with police hold less favorable attitudes, negatively disposed

toward police, which was based on their negative encounters with

law enforcement, although delinquent youths’ attitudes toward

police did not develop solely as a function of police contact,

these contacts did have an effect: whether youths were warned

and released, brought to the police station, or wrongly accused

predicted a juvenile’s respect for police, perceptions of police

fairness, and perceptions of police discrimination toward

minorities. Proactive law enforcement policies often result in

an increase in interactions between police and youths, even

though youths recognized the benefit of reduced crime, increased

police presence also led them to, mistrust the police and other

adults in authority, feel alienated and unsafe in their

communities, and, feel unwelcomed in public spaces.

C) Treatment of children below the age of criminal

responsibility.

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, a youth

entering the Juvenile Justice System has the opportunity to

receive intervention assistance from the state. In the care of

the state, a youth may receive drug rehabilitation assistance,

counselling, and educational opportunities. The success of the

Juvenile Justice System is measured by how well it prepares

youth to re-enter the community without committing further

crimes. Optimally, all juvenile detention facilities would catch

youths up on their education, provide them with job training,

give them the experience of living in a safe, stable

environment, and provide them with assistance to break harmful

habits.

Moreover, Republic Act No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and

Welfare Act of 2006, Treatment of Children below the Age of

Criminal Responsibility, if it has been determined that the

child taken into custody is 15 years old or below, the authority

which will have an initial contact with the child, in

coordination with the Local Social Welfare Development Officer

(LSWDO), has the duty to immediately release the child to the

custody of his/her parents or guardian, or in the absence

thereof, to the child’s nearest relative. If they cannot be

located or they refuse to take custody of the child, the CICL

may be released to any of the following: a duly registered

nongovernmental or religious organization, a barangay official

or a member of the Barangay Council for the Protection of

Children (BCPC), LSWDO, or the Department of Social Welfare and

Development (DSWD).
 Furthermore, Treatment of CICL Depending on Whether They

Acted with or without Discernment, the local social worker can

either release or commit the child to a youth care facility if

he/she is 15 years or below or above 15 but below 18 years old

but who acted without discernment. However, if the child is

above 15 years old but below 18 and who acted with discernment,

diversion should be implemented.

The advantage of this are to saves young lives from being

wasted, but also prevent the onset of adult criminal careers and

therefore reduces the burden of crime on its victims and on

society. It protects the rights of children and it keeps young

people from being put in jail for long periods of time with

adult criminals. Improve and established the better future of

the youthful offender. Protect children against the probable

abuses and youth offender recover from their all failures and

change the perspective of their lives. It also provide both

widely acceptable services and targeted programs for those who

need it most, especially the child who acted with discernment,

preventive efforts that focus on training parents in family

management techniques, and those that provide an array of

supportive services such as child care and/or medical and social

services to socially disadvantaged families

 However, the negative effects of this are it encourages

criminal gangs to recruit young people, knowing that instead of

going to jail, the kids that work for them and commit crimes

will be released to a social worker instead of going to jail.

The criminals take advantage of the age of those minors 15 ages

and below by using them as a courier like in drug trafficking

and CICL take advantage on doing such crime.

 CONCLUSION

In view of foregoing results of the study, the following

conclusions are established:

Republic Act No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and

Welfare Act of 2006 helped the criminal children to build their

spirits in fighting their rights as provided by the Law. They

will enjoy all the benefits of this law until such time most of

them recover from all their failures, and stand to live their

life harmony and love from their parents, relatives, government

and supporters.

The empowerment of children by ensuring their human rights

and dignity provides an opportunity to change, the change which

is required for the growth and development of our country. The

way we deal with our children speaks volumes of our own

character and ensures in laying a concrete foundation for the

future generations to follow.

The implications of this law will tolerate the children who

are protected by the law to let themselves appeared in different

types of criminality in the society. No doubts when child labor

will increase because of this law since the violators can

manipulate the children as they are protected by this law. It is

also observed that the criminality rates of the Philippines have

increased, and most of the criminals are children who are

minors. In some cases, the suspects are the same because they

will only go in and out from imprisonment in which it triggers

the safety and security of the community. This law has a good

implication in a sense that it protects children against the

probable abuse(s) which could be inflicted in them youth

offender recovered from their all failures and change the

perspective in their lives, improve and established the failures

and restorative justice rather than punitive they undergo for

the intervention program but the bad out ways the good

nonetheless in the context of this law.

 RECOMMENDATION

In relation with the findings and conclusions of this

research, the following are recommended:

Improving parental involvement, they should develop

effective parenting skills, they should able to take the

initiative in filling the generation gap, start to understand

the balance of where to place boundaries, where to encourage,

and where to discourage, then their children will not get

spoiled. In this way they become good parents. When people do

not know how to be a good parent, distance between the two

develops. There is, not yet, however, a clear and consistent

conceptualization of what parental involvement looks like, or

should look like, in juvenile justice.

Conduct some community programs for youth at least once a

year and it should be based on a developmental framework that

supports the acquisition of personal and social assets in an

environment and through activities that promote both current

adolescent well-being and future successful transitions to

adulthood.

The Police are a crucial role player, as the Officers

relationship ensures that police will pass eligible children

directly through the Children Justice Committee (CJC), so that

eligible children may avoid pretrial detention. School guidance

counsellors assist children who have returned to school,

to ensure that they do not reoffend.

 Definition of Terms

The following terms as used in this Act shall be defined as

follows:

Act – refers to Republic Act No. 9344, as amended by Republic

Act No. 10630.

Abandoned – when the child has no proper parental care or

guardianship or when the child’s parents or guardians have

deserted the child for a period of at least six continuous

months, as provided in Art. 141(2), Title VIII of P.D. 603.

Abused – when upon the evaluation of the LSWDO, the child is

determined to be maltreated, whether habitual or not, as defined

in Section 3(b) of Republic Act No. 7610, or the “Special

Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and

Discrimination Act” [“R.A. 7610”].

Bail – refers to the security given for the release of the

person in custody of the law, furnished by a bondsman or a

bonding company, to guarantee the appearance of the person

before any Court.

Best interest of the child – refers to the totality of

circumstances and conditions that are most beneficial for the

survival, protection and feelings of security of the child, and

most likely to promote the child’s physical, psychological and

emotional development. It also means the least detrimental

available alternative for safeguarding the growth and

development of the child.

Child – refers to a person under the age of 18 (17 years and

below).

Child who is above 12 years of age – refers to a child not older

than 15 years but not younger who is at least than 12 years and

one day old.

Child who is above 15 years of age – refers to a child who is at

least 15 years and one day old, but below 18 years.

Children-at-risk (CAR) – refers to children who are vulnerable

or at-risk of behaving in a way that can harm themselves or

others, or vulnerable and at risk of being pushed and exploited

to come into conflict with the law because of personal, family

and social circumstances.

Child in Conflict with the Law (CICL) – refers to a child who is

alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, having committed an

offense under Philippine laws.

Community-based Programs - refers to the programs provided in a

community setting developed for purposes of intervention and

diversion, as well as rehabilitation of the child in conflict

with the law, for reintegration into his/her family and/or

community.

Court – refers to a Family Court, or in places where there are

no Family Courts, any Regional Trial Court.

Dependent – when the child is without a parent, guardian or

custodian; or one who’s parents, guardian or other custodian for

good cause desires to be relieved of the child’s

Discernment – refers to the capacity to understand the

difference between right and wrong, and its consequences.

Diversion – refers to an alternative, child-appropriate process

of determining the responsibility and treatment of a child in

conflict with the law, on the basis of the child’s social,

cultural, economic, psychological or educational background,

without resorting to formal court proceedings.

Diversion Program – refers to the program that the child in

conflict with the law is required to undergo after being found

responsible for an offense, without resorting to formal court

proceedings.

Duty-bearer – refer to persons who are responsible for providing

care, addressing the needs and protecting the rights of a child

within the Juvenile Justice and Welfare System.

Educational Institution – refers to a place where children are

accepted as students to gain education. It includes both public

and private and covers those institutions which provide

elementary, secondary and/or tertiary education.

Initial contact with the child – refers to the apprehension or

taking into custody of a CICL 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.

Intervention – generally refers to programmatic approaches or

systematic social protection programs for children that are

designed and intended to promote the physical and social well-

being of the children; avert or prevent juvenile delinquency

from occurring; and stop or prevent children from re-offending.

Juvenile Justice and Welfare System – refers to a system of

dealing with CAR and CICL, which provides child-appropriate

proceedings, including programs and services for prevention,

diversion, rehabilitation, reintegration and after-care to

ensure the child’s normal growth and development.

Law Enforcement Officer - refers to the person in authority or

his/her agent as defined in Article 152 of the Revised Penal

Code, including a barangay tanod.

Light Offense – acts of misdemeanors against public order or

safety such as, but not limited to, disorderly conduct public

scandal, harassment, drunkenness, public intoxication, criminal

nuisance, vandalism, gambling, mendicancy, littering, public

urination, and trespassing.

Neglected – when the child’s basic needs have been deliberately

unattended or inadequately provided, as provided in Art. 141(3)

of P.D. 603.

Offense – refers to any act or omission punishable under special

penal laws or the Revised Penal Code. For purposes of providing

appropriate services for children, the term “offense” shall

include violations of ordinances of local government units.

Probation – refers to a disposition under which a defendant,

after conviction and sentence, is released, subject to the

conditions imposed by the Court and the person is placed under

the supervision of a probation officer.

Recognizance – refers to an undertaking, in lieu of a bail bond,

assumed by a parent or custodian, who shall be responsible for

ensuring the appearance in Court of the child in conflict with

the law, whenever required.

Referral – refers to a process where a duty-bearer, within the

juvenile justice and welfare system, endorses the CICL to the

appropriate service provider for appropriate care or

intervention. ‘Referral’ includes the endorsement of the victim

for appropriate assistance and intervention.

Serious Offense – refers to an offense where the imposable

penalty exceeds six years imprisonment.

Non-Serious Offense – refers to an offense where the imposable

penalty is not more than six years imprisonment.

Unoffending Parent/s – refers to parent/s that had no

participation in the commission of an offense.

Victimless Crimes – refers to offenses where there is no private

offended party

Youth Rehabilitation Center - refers to 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.

Acronyms

BCPC - Barangay Council for the Protection

CAR – Child-At-Risk

CICL - Child in Conflict with the Law

DSWD - Department of Social Welfare and Development

JJWA - Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act

JJWC - Juvenile Justice and Welfare System

LSWDO - Local Social Welfare Development Officer

NCJRS – National Criminal Justice Reference Service

UNCRC - United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child