MICHAEL A.

BERTURAN
CRIMINAL LAW I - 7061
Reaction Paper on the CNN Philippines article
“Pangilinan hits 'wrong' implementation of juvenile justice law”

One of the theories of punishment is rehabilitation. It is a punishment that aims to restore and
provide opportunities to reform the wrongdoer and transform them to be better individuals.

In the context of juvenile delinquency, which a crime is committed by wrongdoers at a very

young age, there is a presumption of minority. Juveniles are still immature and are prone to
mistakes which by some extent commits a criminal act. The psychosocial development of a
minor has not yet been fully developed and can be easily influenced by the environment at large,
and without proper guidance, they may commit acts that are against the law.

In the Philippines, we have Republic Act No. 9344 otherwise known as the Juvenile Justice Law
as amended by Republic Act No. 10630. The aim of the law is to provide prevention,
rehabilitation and reintegration of minors in conflict of the law. Under such law, any minors who
commits serious offenses should be brought to a social welfare officer or a Bahay Pag-asa to
provide rehabilitation.

The intent of the Legislative is therefore centered into making sure that minors in conflict of the
law are rehabilitated in an institution which is different from adults who are also in conflict of the
law. Since again, the presumption is that, they are immature and are prone to mistakes compared
to adults. This is also on top of the policies of the state recognizing the role of children and the
youth in nation building.

Now, the issue tackled in the article is more on the execution of such law. Where even if the
Legislative already provided enough appropriations to establish facilities like Bahay Pag-asa., it
is still the mandate of the Executive to establish such institutions. Even if the law already
provides the measures, these cannot be realized if there are no actions coming from the
Executive. Without such institutions, there is no sufficient execution of the law. Thus, minor in
conflict of the law will not have the rehabilitation needed that might lead to further psychosocial
problems and to habitual delinquencies.

My thoughts on this issue is centered on the execution of the laws. Even if we pass as many laws
in promoting the importance of children and youth towards nation-building, if there is no
execution, it is as if no law has been passed in the promotion of such. The government functions
may be divided into separate branches but their duty has and always been is to act as an
extension of the sovereignty of the people. Thus, policies and actions should be for the
betterment of the sovereign people.

More so, we should better understand the role of the family and the society at large in the
development of the children and the youth. Which for me, pose questions like, is family and the
society at large provides adequate guidance and care towards the children and the youth? , Is the
manner of rehabilitation we provide still adequate? , Is there other ways that we can prevent such
crime to happen rather than simply providing rehabilitation? , and lastly, are societal ills like
MICHAEL A. BERTURAN
CRIMINAL LAW I - 7061
poverty, violence, or lack of education be the reasons why crimes are committed especially by
some minors?