JUVENILE DELINQUENCY AND JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

Prepared by:

BÉMA FULGENCIO – OBIAS

I. NATURE AND CONCEPTS OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

JUVENILE- refers to a child or a young person, who, under the legal system may be
dealt with for an offense in a manner different from that of an adult.

✓ Persons below the age of majority.

DELINQUENT- one whose behavior has brought him into repeated conflict with the
law regardless whether he has been taken before a court and adjudged a delinquent.
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY- an anti-social acts or behavior of children which deviate
from the normal pattern of rules and regulations, custom and culture which society does
not accept and which therefore justify some kind of admonition, punishment or
corrective measures in the public interest.

✓ An anti-social behavior or act which does not conform with the standards of
society.

Note:

✓ “Juvenile delinquency” operates under the philosophy of PARENS PATRIAE

(literally, the state is the father).

✓ Views minors engage in extralegal behavior are victims of improper care, custody,
and treatment at home.

✓ Illegal behavior is a sign that the state should step in and take control of the youth
before they commit more serious crimes.

✓ The state, through its juvenile authorities, should act in the best interests of the
child.

STATUS OFFENSES- Conduct that is illegal, only because the offender is under age,
such as:

✓ Truancy, or frequent, unreasonable absenteeism from school (PD 798)

✓ Uttering of profane language

 ✓ Running away from home

✓ Smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages

✓ Disobedience to parents, guardians or school officials

✓ Mendicancy or begging in the streets

✓ Association with delinquent gangs

Note:

Truancy means absence without cause for more than 20 school days, not
necessarily consecutive; it shall be the duty of the teacher in charge to report to the
parents the absences of the child the moment this exceeded 5 school days.

II.

TYPOLOGY OF DELINQUENCY AND DELINQUENT YOUTH

TYPES OF DELIQUENCY

1. ENVIRONMENTAL- characterized by occasional law-breaking.

2. EMOTIONAL MALADJUSTMENT- characterized by chronic law-breaking, a habit

which a person cannot avoid.
3. PSYCHIATRIC- characterized by serious emotional disturbances within an
individual, and in some cases associated with mental illness.

TYPES OF DELINQUENT YOUTH

1. SOCIAL- aggressive youth who resents authority or anyone who makes an effort to
control his behavior.

2. NEUROTIC- youth who has internalized conflicts and is preoccupied with his own
feelings.

3. ASOCIAL- youth delinquency is characterized by a cold, brutal and vicious quality

for which he feels no remorse.

4. ACCIDENTAL- youth who is essentially sociable and law-abiding but happens to be

at the wrong time and place and involved in delinquency not typical of his general
behavior.
III.

CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS TO JUVENILE DELINQUENCY (RISK FACTORS)

RISK FACTORS- condition, characteristic or variable that increases the likelihood that
a child will become delinquent.

A. CATEGORIES ACCORDING TO ITS NATURE

1. PREDISPOSING– Inherited propensities that cannot be considered a criminal

one unless there is a probability that a crime will be committed.

2. PRECIPITATING– Elements which provoke crime or factors that are signified

to the everyday adjustments of an individual.

IV.

COMPANIONSHIP AND JUVENILE GANGS

Definitions

Cliques- Small groups of friends who share activities and confidences.

Crowds- Loosely organized groups of children who share interests and activities.

Gangs-Groups of youths who collectively engage in delinquent behaviors.

Gang Delinquency- Long–lived, complex institutions that have distinct structure and
organization, including identifiable leadership, division of labor, rules, rituals, and
possessions.

Group Delinquency- A short-lived alliance created to commit a particular crime or

engage in a random violent act.

Factors Stand Out as Part of the Concept of the Youth Gang

1. Members have self-recognition of their gang status, and use of vocabulary, clothing,
signs, colors, grafitti, and names.

2. There is a commitment to criminal activity, though even the most criminal gang
members spend the bulk of their time in noncriminal activities.

Categories of Youth Gangs [Jeffrey Fagan]

1. Social Gang- few delinquent activities; more interested in the social aspects of group
behavior.

2. Party Gang- concentrates on drug use and sales.

3. Serious Delinquent Gangs- involve in serious delinquent behavior; use drugs

occasionally.
4. Organized Gangs- highly cohesive and organized, on the verge of becoming a formal
criminal organization

V.

LAWS RELATED TO CHILDREN/YOUTH

C. PHILIPPINE LAWS AFFECTING CHILDREN

1. PD 603 – The Child and Youth Welfare Code

2. PD 798-Truancy Law

3. Executive Order 209-The Family Code of the Philippines

5. RA 6809 – Lowering the Age of Majority from 21 to 18 Years

6. Proclamation No. 74, S. 1992- Declaring the 17th Day of October of Every Year as
National Children’s Day
7. Ra 7610 – Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination Act

8. RA 7658 – Prohibiting the Employment of Children Below Fifteen (15) Years of age in
Public and Private Undertakings.

9. RA 8369 – Family Courts Act of 1997

10. RA 8552 and RA 8043 – Laws on Domestic and Inter-country Adoption

11. RA 9208 – Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act

12. RA 9231 – law amending RA 7610 on working children

13. RA 9255 – law on the use of father’s surname of illegitimate children

14. RA 9262 – Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004

15. RA 9523 – law amending the laws on adoption

16. RA 9344 - Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006

17. SC Administrative Matter No. 02-1-18-SC-Rule on Juveniles in Conflict with the

Law

18. NAPOLCOM Resolution # 2009-415-Police Manual on the Management of

CASES of CICL

19. RA 9775 – Anti-Child Pornography Act

20. RA 10630- An Act Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines,
Amending RA 9344. [Approved: OCTOBER 03, 2013]

CATEGORIES OF CHILDREN
1. DEPENDENT - one who is without a parent, guardian or custodian, or whose
parents, guardian or other custodian for good cause desire to be relieved of his care and
custody and is dependent upon the public for support

2. ABANDONED-one who had no proper parental care or guardianship or whose

parents or guardians have deserted him for a period of at least six (6) consecutive
months (PD 603)

✓ refers to a child who has no proper parental care or guardianship, or whose

parents have deserted him or her for a period of at least three (3) continuous
months (RA 9523)

3. NEGLECTED- one whose basic needs have been deliberately unattended or

inadequately attended.

✓ Unattended Child- those child left by himself without provision for his needs
and without proper supervision.

✓ Kinds:

a) physical neglect - Malnourishment, untidy and damaged clothing, no shelter

b) emotional neglect - maltreated, raped, seduced, abused, exploited, made to

work under conditions not conducive to good health or placed in moral and physical
danger

4. MENTALLY-RETARDED- socially incompetent and inadequate, occupationally

incompetent and unable to manage their own affairs.
5. PHYSICALLY-HANDICAPPED -crippled, deaf-mute, blind and other conditions
which restrict their means of action or communication with others

6. EMOTIONALLY-DISTURBED-those who, although not afflicted with insanity or

mental defect, are unable to maintain normal social relations with others and the
community in general due to emotional problems or complexes

✓ may be caused by traumatic experiences

7. MENTALLY-ILL -those with any behavioral disorder, whether functional or organic,

which is of such a degree of severity as to require professional help or hospitalization

8. DISABLED- includes mentally-retarded, physically-handicapped, emotionally-

disturbed and mentally-ill children

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209

✓ The Family Code of the Philippines

 ✓ Published: August 4, 1987

✓ Effectivity: August 3, 1988

Start of Personality

✓ Birth determines personality [an aborted fetus is considered never to have been
born. Hence it has no personality]

End of personality

✓ Death extinguishes civil personality

Paternity and Filiation

Paternity- the status or relation of the parent with respect to his or her child

Filiation- the status or relation of a child with respect to his/her parents

Kinds of Filiation

1. Natural- the relation between parent and child arising from nature or from the
child’s birth

2. Artificial- the relation that arises between parent and child by fiction of law or in
imitation of nature, as in ADOPTION.

Kinds of Children Under the Family Code

1. Legitimate- Children conceived OR born during the marriage of parents.

2. Illegitimate- Children conceived AND born outside a valid marriage.

3. Legitimated- Children who are originally illegitimate but later considered

legitimate by legal fiction because of the subsequent marriage of the parents who at the
time of the child’s conception, had no legal impediment to marry each other.

Parental Authority

(PATRIA POTESTAS)

Definition

✓ the mass of rights and obligations which parents have in relation to the person
and property of their children until their emancipation, and even after this under
certain circumstances.

Characteristics of Parental Authority

1. It is the natural right and duty of the parents

2. It cannot be renounced, transferred, or waived, except in cases authorized by law

3. It is jointly exercised by the father and mother

4. It is purely personal and cannot be exercised through agents

5. It is temporary and will end when the child is emancipated or can otherwise take care
of himself and his property, or the parent is unable to properly exercised the authority

Substitute and Special Parental Authority

✓ Substitute Parental Authority- Exercised in case of death, absence or
unsuitability of parents; thus, it is not concurrent with the parental authority of
the actual parents.

✓ Special Parental Authority- Exercised while the child is in the

temporary custody or supervision of the person with special parental authority; it
is concurrent with the parental authority of the parents.

Who Shall Exercises Substitute Parental Authority?

In default of parents OR judicially appointed guardian, the following shall

exercised SPA over the child in the order indicated:

1. The surviving grandparent

2. The oldest brother or sister, over 21 years of age, unless unfit or disqualified

3. The child’s actual custodian, over 21 years of age, unless unfit or disqualified

Who Shall Exercises Special Parental Authority?

1. The school, its administrators and teachers

2. Individual, entity or institution engaged in child care while the child is under their
supervision, instruction or custody

Suspension of PA

1. Conviction carrying civil interdiction of the parents

2. Harsh and cruel treatment of the child

3. Giving the child corrupting orders, counsel or examples

4. Compelling the child to beg

5. Acts of lasciviousness committed against the child by the parents

Permanent Termination of PA

1. Death of the parents

2. Death of the child

3. Emancipation of the child

Termination of PA which CAN BE REVIVED

1. Adoption of the child

2. Appointment of general guardian

3. Judicial declaration of abandonment

4. Divestment of PA by final judgment of a competent court

5. Judicial declaration of absence or incapacity of the person exercising PA

Emancipation and Majority

AGE OF MAJORITY

✓ commences at the age of eighteen (18) years

EMANCIPATION

✓ freedom from parental authority, both over his person and property

✓ occurs upon reaching the age of eighteen years

Note:

✓ the law amending the age of majority from twenty-one (21) to eighteen (18)
years is RA 6809 which was approved on 13 December 1989

REPUBLIC ACT 10630

✓ An Act Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines, Amending
for the Purpose RA 9344.

SIGNIFICANT PROVISIONS:

✓ Sec. 20-A. Serious crimes committed by children who are exempt from criminal
responsibility.

✓ Sec. 20-B. Repetition of offenses

✓ Sec. 20- C. Exploitation of children for commission of crimes

VI.

THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

A. THE CONCEPT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE

Definition

✓ System that provides a legal setting in which youths can account for their wrongs
or receive official protection. It is also a term that necessarily implies distinct
and separate treatment between youths and adults in the dispensing of justice.

Purposes:

✓ Promote the well-being of the juvenile; and

✓ Promulgate the principle of proportionality

VII.

THE PHILIPPINE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

A. HISTORY AND LEGISLATION

1. January 11, 1906- Act No. 1438, providing for the commitment of juvenile
offenders to charitable or educational institutions instead of to public prisons or jails was
passed.

2. August 31, 1907-Act No. 1703, amending Act No. 1438 providing all reasonable
and actual expenses incurred in the transportation, guarding, and subsistence of minor
prisoners shall be borne by the province in which said minor prisoners were sentenced, if
they be provincial prisoners, or by the appropriation for the bureau of prisons, if they be
Insular Prisoners.

3. December 3, 1924- Act No. 3203, otherwise known as the Juvenile Delinquency
Law was enacted.

Salient features:

1) Laid the basis for the establishment of a juvenile court;

2) First provided for the suspension of sentence of minor delinquents;

3) Provided for Probation Officer for minors;

4) Prohibited minors to be detained for more than 24 hours in any jail or room where
adult convicts are confined; and

5) Raised the age level of all minor offenders to 18 years.

Notes:

✓ This law was embodied in Art 80 of the RPC and PD 603. Art 80 was later on
superseded by PD 1179 (providing that suspension of sentence of youthful offender
is no longer automatic but subject to petition and upon the discretion of the court).

4. December 8, 1930-Act No. 3815 (RPC)

✓ Become effective on January 1, 1932.

✓ Art 80 modified the provision on suspension of sentence as provided by Act No.

3203.

5. June 18,1949- RA 386 (NCC) was approved, and took effect on July 30, 1950.

✓ Art 359 provides that “the government will establish whenever possible, schools
in every barrio, municipality and city; puericulture and similar centers; Councils
for the Protection of Children and Juvenile Courts.”
 ✓ Art 361 provides that “Juvenile Courts will be established, as far as practicable,
in every chartered city or municipality.”

6. December 10,1974-PD 603 (CYWC)

✓ Signed on Human Rights Day.

✓ Called Magna Carta for Children and Youth.

✓ Effective 6 months after or on June 10, 1975.

7. August 15, 1977- PD 1179 was promulgated lowering the age of youthful offender
from 21 provided by PD 603 to 18 at the time of the commission of an offense.

B. THE REPUBLIC ACT 9344 AS AMENDED BY RA 10630

Introduction

The JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE ACT OF 2006

✓ Approval: 28 April 2006

✓ Effectivity: 20 May 2006

✓ Repealed the provisions of the Revised Penal Code and Presidential Decree No.
603 on minor offenders

CASES COVERED BY JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM

1. Where criminal liability attaches to the parent

2. Where the offended party is a minor

3. Where the court acts under the Truancy Law (P.D. 798)

4. Where the proceeding involve minors under the Child and Youth Welfare Code.

5. Where the proceeding involves minors under the Dangerous Drug Act.

CRIMINAL LIABILITY ATTACHES TO ANY PARENTS

1. Conceals or abandon the child with intent to make such child lose his civil status.

2. Abandon the Child under such circumstances as to deprive him of the love, care and
protection he needs.

3. Sells or abandons the child to another person for valuable consideration.

4. Neglects the child by not giving him the education, which the family’s station in life
and financial conditions permit.
5. Fails or refuse, without justifiable grounds, to enroll the child as required by the Child
and Youth Welfare Code.

6. Causes, abets, or permits the truancy of the child from the school where he is enrolled.
7. Improperly exploits the child by using him for begging and other acts, which are
inimical to his interest and welfare.

8. Inflicts cruel and unusual punishment upon the child or deliberately subjects him to
indignities and other excessive chastisement that embarrass or humiliate him.

9. Causes or encourages the child to lead an immoral or dissolute life.

10. Permits the child to posses, handle or carry a deadly weapon, regardless of its
ownerships.
11. Allows or requires the child to drive without a license or with a license which the
parent knows to have been illegally procured.

Important Terminologies And Concepts

JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM -refers to a system dealing with
children at risk and children in conflict with the law, which provides child-
appropriate proceedings, including programs and services for prevention, diversion,
rehabilitation, re-integration and aftercare to ensure their normal growth and
development.

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE- refers to a principle which requires a process of resolving

conflicts with the maximum involvement of the victim, the offender and the
community; seeks to obtain reparation for the victim, reconciliation of the
offender, the offended and the community and reassurance to the offender that he
or she can be reintegrated into society

CHILD AT RISK- refers to a child who is vulnerable to and at the risk of committing
criminal offenses because of personal, family and social circumstances

CHILD IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW- refers to a child who is alleged as, accused
of, or adjudged as, having committed an offense under Philippine laws

INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE CHILD- refers to the apprehension or taking into
custody of a child in conflict with the law by law enforcement officers or private citizens

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 his or her
social, cultural, economic, psychological or educational background without resorting
to formal court proceedings
INTERVENTION- refers to a series of activities which are designed to address issues
that caused the child to commit an offense. It take the form of an individualized
treatment program which may include counseling, skills training, education, and
other activities that will enhance his or her psychological, emotional and psycho-social
well-being

BAHAY PAG-ASA - 24-hour child-caring institution established, funded and managed

by LGUs and licensed and/or accredited NGOs providing short-term residential care
for CICL who are above fifteen (15) but below eighteen (18) years of age who
are awaiting court disposition of their cases or transfer to other agencies or
jurisdiction .

YOUTH REHABILITATION CENTER- 24-hour residential care facility managed by

the DSWD, LGUs, licensed or accredited non-governmental organizations monitored by
the DSWD, which provides care, treatment and rehabilitation services for
children in conflict with the law.
Intensive Juvenile Intervention and Support Center- Part of the features of a
Bahay Pag-asa which cater to children in conflict with the law, such as children:

(1) below the age of criminal responsibility (sec 20),

(2) who committed serious crimes but are exempt from criminal
responsibility (sec 20-a),

(3) who is above twelve (12) years of age up to fifteen (15) years of age and
who commits an offense for the second time or oftener (Sec 20-B Repetition of
Offenses) [ SEC. 2. Section 4 Par S].

Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC)- A government agency created

and attached to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and placed
under its administrative supervision. It is chaired by an Undersecretary of the
Department of Social Welfare and Development [SEC. 4. Section 8].

Regional Juvenile Justice and Welfare Committee (RJJWC)- A regional agency

under the administration and supervision of the JJWC, which is chaired by the
director of the regional office of the DSWD [SEC. 4. Section 8].

C. Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility

1. Fifteen (15) years of age OR under at the time of the commission of the offense

✓ EXEMPT from criminal liability.

✓ Shall be subjected to an intervention program.

2. Above fifteen (15) years BUT below eighteen (18) years of age

✓ EXEMPT from criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention

program,
 ✓ Unless has acted with discernment, in which case, the child shall be
subjected to the appropriate proceedings in accordance with RA 10630.

Notes:
✓ The exemption from criminal liability established does not include exemption
from civil liability, which shall be enforced in accordance with existing laws.
[SEC. 3. Section 6]

✓ The Setting of the age of criminal responsibility/liability is based on a study

commissioned by the Council for the Welfare of Children entitled: “BEYOND
INNOCENCE: A STUDY OF THE AGE OF DISCERNMENT OF FILIPINO
CHILDREN”.

Note:

The minimum age for children committed to a youth care facility or ‘Bahay
Pag-asa’ shall be twelve (12) years old. [SEC. 6. Section 20].
I. THE COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS ON JUVENILE JUSTICE AND
WELFARE

✓ Instituted by the local government units through the school, youth organizations,
and other concerned agencies. It mandated to respond to the special needs,
problems, interests and concerns of children, by offering appropriate counseling
and guidance to them and their families.

Three (3) levels of the Community-Based Juvenile Justice Welfare Program

1. PRIMARY INTERVENTION- includes general measures to promote social justice

and equal opportunity, which tackle perceived root causes of offending.

2. SECONDARY INTERVENTION- includes measures to assist children at risk.

3. TERTIARY INTERVENTION - includes measures to avoid unnecessary contact

with the formal justice system and other measures to prevent re-offending.

AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION OF SENTENCE

1. If the child in conflict with the law is found guilty of the offense charged, the court
shall place the child under suspended sentence, without need of application
2. The automatic suspension of sentence may be extended until the child reaches
the maximum age of TWENTY-ONE (21) YEARS OLD

3. The court shall order the detention of the child in a youth rehabilitation
center where he shall undergo the appropriate disposition measures

DISCHARGE OF THE CHILD IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW

 ✓ upon the recommendation of the social worker who has custody of the child, the
court shall DISMISS THE CASE AGAINST THE CHILD if the court finds
that the disposition measures have been fulfilled

RETURN OF THE CHILD IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW TO COURT

✓ if the court finds that the objective of the disposition measures imposed upon the
child have not been fulfilled, or if the child has willfully failed to comply
with the conditions of his or her rehabilitation program, the child shall be
returned to court for the EXECUTION OF JUDGMENT

PROBATION
✓ a child in conflict with the law whose sentence was executed by the court upon
reaching the maximum age of TWENTY-ONE (21) shall be entitled to the
benefits of probation under PD 968, the Probation Law of 1976

CHILDREN ARE OUR MOST VALUABLE NATURAL RESOURCE.

-Herbert C. Hoover

“GLOIRE À DIEU”