Caraga media reoriented on juvenile justice laws
By
Mike Ariel P. Plaza
BUTUAN
CITY, Sept. 27 - “If in doubt, ask yourself: Is this in the best interest of
the child?”
This
was emphasized by lawyer Euvic Ferrer of the Commission on Human Rights during
a media orientation on the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act held recently at LJ
Mega Convention Center, this city.
Organized
by the Regional Juvenile Justice and Welfare Committee (RJJWC) headed by the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Caraga, the activity aimed
to reorient the media and the people on Republic Act 9344 as amended by 10630
which strengthens the juvenile justice system in the Philippines that protects
the rights of children in conflict with the law (CICL).
“Although
criminal cases committed by these children are considered legal issues, the
fact that these children need restorative justice makes it more a concern for
child welfare,” Ferrer said.
He
also added that the media could be a great contributor both in protecting these
children and making sure that they do not undergo “unfair trial by publicity.”
“Aside
from protecting the confidentiality and privacy of these children in media
reports, it is also the duty of the media to make sure that all media stories
are done in the best benefit of a child,” he said.
Discussed
in the orientation are the roles of media in the promotion of child rights, and
delinquency prevention by relaying consistent messages through a balanced
approach and that media practitioners, as partners in ensuring juvenile justice
and welfare, shall have the duty to maintain the highest critical and
professional standards in their reports covering cases of CICLs.
“In
all publicity concerning children, the best interest of the child should be the
primordial and paramount concern,” Ferrer said, adding that “any undue,
inappropriate and sensationalized publicity of any case involving a CICL is a
violation of the child’s rights.”
DSWD-Caraga
OIC Regional Director Mita Chuchi Gupana-Lim, who also chairs RJJWC, said that
CICLs have rights that “we should all help protect.”
"This
is an interagency concern because all of us, especially the media, have roles
to play in ensuring that these children still enjoy their rights,” Lim added.
According
to RA 10630, CICLs have the rights to enjoy presumption of minority; freedom
from torture, cruel inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment; not to be
imposed capital punishment, life imprisonment, without possibility of release;
freedom from any unlawful or arbitrary deprivation of liberty; not to be
detained in a jail pending trial or hearing; and right to privacy, among
others.
The orientation, which also tackled the
differences of children-at-risk and CICL, child custody, intervention programs
for CICL and the system of diversion, was attended by media persons from Butuan
City and Tandag City, police officers from Agusan del Norte and select parents
and special education teachers. (Social Marketing Unit/DSWD Field Office
Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
