City council proposes to host citywide summit on Juvenile Welfare Act of 2006

TACLOBAN CITY – Law enforcers has also its fault in the implementation of the Justice Juvenile Welfare Act of 2006, reason why some youth offenders and criminal groups are abusing it, said this city’s vice mayor Arvin Antoni. During their regular session last Wednesday,Councilor Bianco Mate expressed concern over the raise of crime in the city involving youth offenders which he blamed on the implementation of said law that was authored by Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan. Mate said that while the intention of the law was good,its implementation was questionable as local government units were not ready for it particularly on the construction of facilities to be used for intervention of youth offenders. Mate urged his colleagues to pass a resolution seeking for the amending of said law. However, Vice Mayor Antoni said that law enforcers could be blame as they are interpreting the law in a different way. “It is not true that they can’t arrest the child offender.Under the law, law enforcers has the right to arrest them especially if they commit bigger crimes,” Antoni, who is also a lawyer, said. Vagrancy, prostitutions, sniffing of solvents are the only offenses that youth offenders are not to be filed with case by law enforces but they need to undergo intervention said Antoni. Antoni added that it is only the judges who have the right to determine if the child is minor or not based on the evidences presented to them in contrast to what is happening right now, wherein when a child offender presented a birth certificate to law enforcers they are immediately released by them. “That is not the right process; it is only the court who can say that these children are minors,” he stressed. He added that since amendment of the Justice Juvenile Welfare Act is not yet been tackled in Congress, it is better for the local government units and law enforcers to implement it and made some intervention to address the problem. Meanwhile, Councilor Jerry “Sambo” Yaokasin said that solving problem on youth offenders starts within the family. Yaokasin stressed that if only parents are responsible enough to check and guide their children, they would be responsible enough to know and balance what is wrong and right and what is good for them. Responsible parenting ,according to him, is the key to solve this problem which is currently now lacks among parents reason why morality of the youth in this present time are slowly deteriorating. Councilor Jerry Uy, who chairs the committee on laws, proposed for the city government to host a citywide summit on the implementation of the Justice Juvenile Welfare Act. Among those to be invited in the summit as he proposed are law enforcers, city social welfare and development office and the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, academe and Church, non-government organization and parents organizations.