RYAN (NOT his real name), 14, probably never thought it could happen
to him—not even perhaps in his wildest dreams.
He was thrown into a prison cell packed with adult inmates. He had
no access to legal, medical, and other social services.
Thus there was no one to fight for him when he was subjected to the
prisoners' "traditional welcome rites." His adult cellmates
took turns beating him up. Under threat of more beatings, he let one
of his elder cellmates tattoo his wrist with the Sigue-Sigue Gang
symbol.
All these happened without his police captors moving a finger to help
him.
Violation of Children's Rights
What happened to Ryan is a violation of children's rights under the
Child and Youth Welfare Code.
Under Art. 189 of the said law, "A child nine years of age or
under at the time of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability
and shall be committed to the care of his or her father or mother,
or nearest relative or family friend in the discretion of the court
and subject to its supervision. The same shall be done for a child
over nine years and under fifteen years of age at the time of the
commission of the offense, unless he acted with discernment, in which
case he shall be proceeded against in accordance with Article 192."
Under the Child and Youth Welfare Code, Ryan in the first place should
not have been imprisoned. He should have been committed to the care
of his parents or any other relative or acquaintance willing and able
to tend to him, under the discretion of and subject to the supervision
of the court.
Art. 190 of the same law obliges police personnel arresting suspected
youthful offenders to assure them access to medical attention and
psychological help: "A youthful offender held for physical and
mental examination or trial or pending appeal, if unable to furnish
bail, shall from the time of his arrest be committed to the care of
the Department of Social Welfare or the local rehabilitation center
or a detention home in the province or city which shall be responsible
for his appearance in court whenever required: Provided, That in the
absence of any such center or agency within a reasonable distance
from the venue of the trial, the provincial, city and municipal jail
shall provide quarters for youthful offenders separate from other
detainees. The court may, in its discretion, upon recommendation of
the Department of Social Welfare or other agency or agencies authorized
by the Court, release a youthful offender on recognizance, to the
custody of his parents or other suitable person who shall be responsible
for his appearance whenever required."
In Ryan's case, this was not served.
Likewise, suspected youth offenders, like any other suspected criminal,
are entitled to legal aid in accordance with the Constitution, specifically
under Article III, Section 12, Paragraph 1: "Any person under
investigation for the commission of an offense shall have the right
to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent
and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person
cannot afford the services of counsel, he must be provided with one.
These rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence
of counsel."
One of Many
But Ryan's case is just one of a great number which shows the plight
of children who come into conflict with the law in the Philippines.
(The non-government organization Prisoners' Rehabilitation Services
Operations Foundation has taken up his case and is actively campaigning
against police child detention.)
Last April 11, the international human rights group Amnesty International
released a report on the plight of suspected child and youth offenders
in the Philippines. The report paints a very depressing picture.
The London-based Amnesty estimates the number of streetchildren in
the Philippines at 200,000. These are usually children who have run
away to escape difficult home situations such as those experienced
by dysfunctional families-which are often exacerbated by poverty and
abuse, whether physical or verbal or sexual. They are very likely
to be arrested, since they may learn to steal in order to survive
for the day, or use cheap mind-altering substances such as rugby to
numb the stomach against the pangs of hunger.
Because of their lack of knowledge of the law combined with their
psychological vulnerability, streetchildren are easy prey to policemen
who find it very convenient to slap vagrancy charges on them.
One of the testimonies recorded by Amnesty say it very clearly. Sol,
16, comes from a broken family. "I was here in Cayagan de Oro
because my mother and father were quarrelling—they separated.
I started roaming the city—sleeping on the sidewalk. I was arrested
on suspicion of robbery... Because of poverty I learned how to steal.
This is the reason I am in jail. My hearing is still going on. I feel
very tired here."
Citing a study conducted on child offenders in the Philippines, Amnesty
states that less than ¼ of them lived with both parents before
being arrested, while only 2.2% reported being enrolled in school.
This betrays a lack of family and community support that makes them
particularly vulnerable while in detention. Often, suspected child
and youth offenders, upon being arrested, are handcuffed and beaten
with fists or feet—or both, or with truncheons or gun butts.
In the precincts there have been cases where suspected child and youth
offenders were assaulted by adults who accuse them of offenses—often
in the presence of policemen.
In detention they are usually assaulted physically or sexually—there
have been rapes of both boys and girls by adult inmates. Many have
reported being subjected to electric shocks or having their fingernails
singed with lit cigarettes—no different from so many political
detainees during the martial law era. Many of them have told of being
made to sign documents they did not understand.
These all run counter to international and domestic laws on human
rights and the rights of the child.
A 17-year-old boy who was arrested for theft narrated his experiences
in the hands of his police captors to the streetchildren's organization
Balay sa Gugma, thus: "My father couldn't afford my schooling
because it was too expensive… I learned how to steal. That's
the time the police caught me. They placed me in a sack and I was
beaten up by the police. They pointed their guns at me. Then the policeman
said: "If you want to see your mother just pray…"
This echoes stories related by children who attended a national consultative
workshop on streetchildren and the juvenile justice system held in
August last year at the Skyline Riverbend Hotel and Convention Center
in Marikina City. The workshop was organized by the University of
the Philippines' Center for Integrative and Development Studies-Psychosocial
Trauma and Human Rights Program in coordination with the Consortium
for Street Children, an NGO based in the United Kingdom.
One of them, a 14-year-old girl, said: "I can't forget what happened
to me. I was caught with rugby. They poured it all over me. I wished
they didn't do that."
Another girl said she was hit with a logbook and a dustpan. Still
another said she was coaxed by the policemen to allow them to touch
her private parts in exchange for release.
A boy who was in the same workshop said that upon arrest for possession
of rugby, he was immediately beaten up. Another boy, who was caught
with rugby, said he was paraded around the marketplace, and said he
felt very humiliated.
More Than Legal
The plight of suspected child and youth offenders in the Philippines
uncovers the phenomenon of policemen ignorant of the very laws they
are supposed to uphold, much more of the concept of human rights and
children's rights. It is clear that the Philippines' police force
is in dire need of education in these areas.
But more than being a legal problem, their plight reveals a culture
heavily infused with elements of treatment of children and youth as
inferior beings.
At the particular stage of life they are in, children and youth are
especially vulnerable both physically and psychologically. Traumatic
experiences in childhood and youth, needless to say, tend to handicap
people in the pursuit of a life that could contribute positively to
society. At the worst people who had to put up with a heavy dose of
trauma in childhood and youth become real menaces to the community
and even to society at large.
Children and youth should thus be treated with utmost care. This is
possible only in a culture that does not look upon them as inferior
beings. (Bulatlat.Com)
