Three senior officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) faced reporters during the agency’s Thursday Media Forum on December 12 at the Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City where they provided updates on ongoing initiatives of the Department and its attached agency, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC).
Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao of the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG), who is also the DSWD spokesperson, shared the latest reports on the ongoing disaster response efforts for families affected by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Kanlaon.
Assistant Secretary Juan Carlo Marquez, the agency’s co-spokesperson, discussed the status of the Beneficiary FIRST (Fast, Innovative, and Responsive Service Transformation) program, a digital transformation initiative to ensure that social welfare programs and services will be adaptive and shock-responsive.
JJWC Executive Director Atty. Tricia Clare Oco explained the Comprehensive National Juvenile Intervention Program (CNJIP) and other support programs of the council to help children in conflict with the law (CICL).
The Thursday Media Forum, which is held weekly at the DSWD Central Office’s New Press Center, is hosted by Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Communications Raymond Robert Burgos and Agency Operations Service (AOS) Director Clarissa Lara Duran. It is live streamed over the DSWD Facebook page.
DSWD ready for prolonged Kanlaon restiveness; aid for Negros island families reaches Php6.7-M
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has already provided more than Php6.7 million in humanitarian aid to families displaced by the recent restiveness of Mt. Kanlaon, a senior agency official said on Thursday (December 12).
“The total cost of humanitarian assistance extended by the DSWD, as of 6:00 am today, ay nagkakahalaga na po ng Php6,731,626. Ito po ay binubuo ng mga family food packs (FFPs) and non-food items (FNIs), particularly sleeping kits and hygiene kits,” Asst. Secretary for Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Irene Dumlao, who is also the agency spokesperson, told reporters during the DSWD Thursday Media Forum held weekly at the DSWD Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City.
Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the DSWD has so far prepositioned 1,508,038 boxes of FFPs throughout the country that are ready for dispatch to augment the food supplies of disaster-affected local government units (LGUs).
“Matatagpuan po yan sa mga spokes, hubs, and last miles ng ating ahensya. Kung magpapatuloy ang epekto ng pagputok ng Mt. Kanlaon, nakahanda po ang DSWD,” the DRMG official pointed out.
Asst. Secretary Dumlao said the DSWD, particularly its Field Offices 6-Western Visayas and 7-Central Visayas continue to augment relief assistance to affected LGUs.
“Nagpapatuloy ang koordinasyon ng DSWD sa mga partner LGUs para po matugunan natin ang mga pangangailangan ng mga kababayan natin na naapektuhan ng pagputok ng Mt. Kanlaon,” the DSWD spokesperson said.
Camp Coordination and Camp Management
In addition to resource augmentation, Asst. Secretary Dumlao said Secretary Rex Gatchalian went to Negros Island a day after Mt. Kanlaon’s eruption last December 9 to personally check the situation of the internally displaced persons (IDP) and ensure that there are safe spaces in the evacuation centers for vulnerable individuals.
The DSWD’s Western Visayas Field Office and the La Carlota City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) also conducted monitoring and assessment at the La Carlota City evacuation Center in Negros Occidental on Wednesday (December 11).
During the inspection, the DSWD-FO 6 and CSWDO personnel checked the evacuation center if it has functional facilities such as community kitchen, separate comfort rooms for males and females, well-lit halls, presence of child-friendly space (CFS), women-friendly space (WFS), and breast feeding area.
A total of 654 families or 2,314 individuals are currently taking temporary shelter in the six evacuation centers in La Carlota City, according to the DSWD’s Disaster Response Operations Management, Information and Communication (DROMIC) report as of 6:00 am.
The La Castellana Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO) personnel also conducted house rules orientation to IDPs in La Castellana Elementary School evacuation camp.
Asst. Secretary Dumlao said 2,825 families or 9,328 individuals are currently seeking shelter in 11 evacuation centers in the municipality of La Castellana in Negros Occidental.
The DSWD 7-Quick Response Team (QRT) visited the IDPs staying at the Jose B. Cardenas Memorial High School evacuation center in Canlaon City to check and assess their situation.
Both FOs have already deployed their Mobile Command Center (MCC) units to provide internet connectivity and serve as charging stations for concerned stakeholders.
“The MCC ensures the timely submission of data and information to the DSWD Central Office’s Disaster Response Command Center (DRCC) whenever communication lines are cut due to the effects of the Kanlaon Volcano eruption,” Asst. Secretary Dumlao said.
DSWD’s attached agency explains proper handling of cases involving children in conflict with the law
An official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s attached agency explained on Thursday (December 12) the proper procedures in handling cases involving children in conflict with the law (CICLs).
Atty. Tricia Clare Oco, executive director of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) told reporters at the DSWD’s Thursday Media Forum on December 12 that CICLs will still have accountability for their offenses following the procedures prescribed under the provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 9344 as amended by RA No. 10630 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (JJWA).
“Nagkaroon sila ng maling understanding doon sa batas, dahil akala nila yung mga bata walang accountability doon at akala nung mga nang-aabuso na pag ginamit nila yung mga bata, hindi rin sila pwedeng file-an ng criminal case. Ang pagkakaiba lang pag bata ang finile-an mo ng criminal case o kung below 15 siya, iba lang yung proseso pero mayroong pa rin silang accountability,” Atty. Oco explained in the Media Forum held weekly at the DSWD Central Office’s New Press Center.
According to the JJWC’s executive director, the law establishes a Comprehensive National Juvenile Intervention Program (CNJIP) which promotes a whole-of-government approach to protect and promote the rights and welfare of CICLs and children-at-risk (CARs).
The JJWC also puts in place a comprehensive and child-sensitive procedure to rehabilitate CICLs under a restorative justice and welfare system.
“Ang pinaka-purpose ng batas, dapat walang bata na nagkakaroon ng pagkakamali o kung nagkamali man ay dapat nare-rehabilitate,” Atty. Oco said in the Media Forum.
For children above 12 years old (and 15 years old and below) who committed serious offenses, they will be placed in the Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA) which is managed and operated by local government units (LGUs).
The children in conflict with the law (CICL) will undergo an intensive juvenile intervention program through the Intensive Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (IJISC), a special feature of Bahay Pag-Asa.
For children above 15 but below 18 years old at the time of the commission of the offense, the Local Social Welfare and Development Offices (LSWDOs) will assess whether or not the CICL has acted with discernment.
If the child is found to have acted with discernment and the imposable penalty of the offense is more than 12 years of imprisonment, a case may be filed against the child in court. If the penalty is not more than six (6) years of imprisonment, a case may be filed against the child at the police level.
Diversion is an alternative, child-sensitive process of determining the responsibility of the child in conflict with the law without resorting to formal court proceedings.
The procedure can be implemented at the levels of Katarungang Pambarangay, the Police, and Prosecutor. If the penalty is more than six (6) years but not more than 12 years, the diversion will be at the Court level.
Atty. Oco said the efforts of the JJWC to support BPAs through the Support to Bahay Pag-Asa Project. The project aims to provide augmentation and assistance to BPA facilities to improve their operational capacity, services, and resources to effectively respond to the needs of admitted CICLs.
To date, 115 BPAs are operational with 25 of these already accredited by the DSWD.
