The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance on the roll out of the training on the formulation of comprehensive local juvenile intervention program (CLJIP) and child rights-based local ordinances and providing funds for the said purpose.
Under the proposed ordinance authored by Councilor Elmer Datuin, the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) and the Department of the Interior and Local government (DILG) shall conduct the annual training on the formulation of the CLJIPs and child rights-based local ordinances.
The participants to the training shall be the members of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC), including the punong barangays, barangay kagawad who are serving as the chairperson of the committee on social services, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairperson, barangay secretary and civil society organization representatives.
The ordinance stipulated that this training shall be composed of five modules, particularly gender awareness orientation, introduction to child rights-based ordinance and children in conflict of the law principles, frameworks and interventions, formulation of a CLJIP, mainstreaming of the CLJIP to the city development plan and local development investment plan and institutionalization of the CLJIP.
The ordinance mandated the CSWDO to include in its annual budget at least PhP300,000 or as needed for the effective implementation of the proposed measure.
The ordinance claimed that children are one of the disadvantaged groups, having no voice nor capacity to protect their interests, hence, they require greater access to justice and are especially protected under the Philippine laws.
Moreover, over the past years, significant progress has been made towards establishing national and local mechanisms for the child justice system in the country that includes the enactment of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act that outlines a comprehensive policy in ensuring the protection of the rights and wellbeing of children at risk and children in conflict with the law as well as the development of various programs, guidelines, and protocols in handling cases involving child victims of abuse, neglects and exploitation.
The DILG, as a permanent member of the Juvenile Justice Council, has specific roles in the juvenile justice laws that includes the provision of technical assistance to local governments in the formulation and implementation of CLJIPs.
In 2016, the DILG issued a memorandum circular encouraging the local government units to formulate their respective CLJIPs using the guidelines developed by the agency. However, recent studies showed that there is still much to be done in enhancing the child justice system at the local level, especially in strengthening the effectiveness and efficiency of local governments in delivering justice services to children. By Dexter A. See
