City Council panel endorses brgy Children Justice Center

The ordinance of barangay Ermita establishing the Children's Justice Center and the mediation-diversion program for juveniles has gained the endorsement of the city council's committee on laws, which was tasked earlier to study the measure.

Committee chairman Edgardo Labella reported to the council that the protective and beneficial aspects of the barangay measure should be approved but the content and style of its provisions should first be improved.

The Labella committee suggested additional provisions to the barangay ordinance to make it more responsive to the needs of juveniles for whom the measure was supposed to uplift and protect.

The barangay ordinance created the CJC for prompt dispensation of justice for both the abused children and the minor offenders. The CJC must also ensure the safety of abused children and to make confidential the cases involving them.

The center will serve as facilitator in providing assistance to juveniles, including counseling, guidance and supervision, "with the hope of helping the child return to normal family and community life."

The CJC, chaired by a councilman and the Lupong Tagapamayapa head, will also resolve complaints against juvenile offenders, lodged at the Tagapamayapa office.

To strengthen the CJC purpose, the ordinance also installed the barangay-based mediation-diversion program to help juvenile offenders, reform and become productive citizens.

The Labella panel agreed that the CJC is the best way for barangay Ermita to accomplish its aim of protecting the welfare of children.

The ordinance stated: "The barangay council believes that an abused child or a youth offender are both victims of circumstances who need to be understood and provided immediately with the necessary assistance, guidance and supervision." - Garry B. Lao