We speak for the Children On the MACR (MINIMUM AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY)

(Photo lifted from the FB of Bishop Pablo David)

The House of Representatives under the Speakership of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is now rushing for the approval of the act amending and expanding the RA 9344 “The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006” which will LOWER DOWN THE MINIMUM AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY OF CHILDREN FROM 15 YEARS OLD TO 12 YEARS OLD. This is House Bill No. 8858, which has been approved on 2nd reading by the Lower House last January 23, 2019

The proposed bill was introduced with the following objectives:

·        To protect minors from being exploited by syndicates and unscrupulous persons that use minors to escape liability for crimes and other illegal activities.

·        To provide adequate intervention and diversion measures for children in conflict with the law.

·        To increase the penalties for the exploitation of children for the commission of crimes.

We oppose this bill on the following grounds:

1.   We now have the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act (JJWA) or RA 9344

In this Law the CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW (CICL) who are below 15 years of age should have age - appropriate interventions from the DSWD. Those who are 15 years old till 18 years are to be put in rehabilitation centers and not to be mixed with other prisoners. They should undergo rehabilitation programs in these centers. The whole purpose of the JJWA for CICL and for CHILDREN AT RISK (CAR) is

·        Prevention

·        Diversion

·        Rehabilitation

·        Re-integration

·        Aftercare

The law is not property implemented since 2006.

·        There are not enough rehabilitation centers and those that have are not properly staffed and there is not enough program to rehabilitate the children.

·        The DSWD does not have enough personnel to handle the CICL and CAR in the municipalities.

·        The barangay officials are not oriented or are not doing anything to take care of the CAR although they have a mandate for this.

The government has a very poor record of implementing laws. We call for full implementation of this law which already addresses many concerns brought out by the new bill. If the government now is not able to build rehabilitation centers of CICL since 2006, what guarantee we have the that proposed Bahay Pangarap of this bill will be built and properly staffed?

2.  CICL account for less than 2% of criminality in the country and many of these are petty crimes due to hunger, influence of peers and lack of parental guidance. CICL may be used by syndicates and adults to do crimes. This means that they are victims. Criminalizing them will not solve the problem unless we go after the syndicates. The Police shows its failure to get the syndicates and instead would run after victims of these syndicates. When this bill becomes a law, the police will tap its shoulders for having put children in jail and not bother to look for the syndicates and adults who use the children, as they tap their shoulders for having killed small time users of drugs instead of getting at the big drug lords!

3.  Science tells us that children below age 18 are not fully developed intellectually, emotionally and psychologically. This is why they are not allowed to vote and are not allowed to enter into legal contracts. The argument that the bill will act as a deterrent does not hold water because the kids do not see the full implications of the law nor of their actions. The users of these kids will continue to use them since there are many vulnerable kids anyway because of widespread poverty.

4.  Once a child of 12 is criminalized, his/her record for life is already a criminal. We destroy his/her future without him/ her knowing fully what he/she has done. This brand or stigma as a criminal in his/her records will close a lot of doors for his/her future.

5.  The Philippine government is party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children (UNCRC) which prohibits criminalization of children. According to the Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 24 replacing General Comment No. 10 of 2007 (Child Rights’ in Juvenile Justice), “State parties are encouraged to increase their minimum age to at least 14 years, while those with 15 or 16 years of age are commendable. Further, the Committee recommends that State Parties should under no circumstances reduce the minimum age of criminal responsibility, if its current penal law sets the minimum age of criminal responsibility at an age higher than 14 years.”

6.  Lastly, a very dangerous section (Section 43-A) was inserted which in effect will prevent any appeal or reconsideration or correction in the judgements given to these young offenders, to wit:

SEC 43-A. PENALTY FOR VIOLATION OF CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS- ANY PERSON WHO HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF DIVULGING, WILFULLY OR THROUGH GROSS INEXCUSABLE NEGLIGENCE, THE RECORDS OR ANY INFORMATION RELATION TO THE PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW, SHALL SUFFER THE PENALTIES IMPOSED IN TITLE VII, CHAPTER 3 OF THIS ACT.”

Simply put, once a child has been arrested, the court, within 72 hours, has to make a decision for the petition for an involuntary commitment to these specialized facilities. The initial period of the placement of the child shall not be less than one year. After that 72 hours, no person can have access to the records or any information in relation to the proceedings. Therefore, No DSWD, NGO or Charitable Institution can help these children because NO ONE WILL GIVE OUT ANY RECORD OR INFORMATION UNDER THE PAIN OF STIFF PENALTIES.

What should we do as Church?

·        We promoted Positive Discipline and Responsible Parenting in our family ministries.

·        We should also join the advocacy to stop corporal punishment.

·        We set up programs for the protection of children and vulnerable adults. Programs on this kind are already in place, such as the one being promoted by the Salvatorian Sisters which the diocese of Novaliches has adopted and pursues.

·        Most important is the effort to end poverty. Poverty is the reason why many children are out of school, are not cared for by their parents, resort to substance abuse, and are easily lured by human traffickers and syndicates.

·        We should raise our voice against this amendment to MACR as Church. Our strong devotion to Sto. Niño urges us this. If we make enough noise this bill will not be considered by Senate which in general is very sensitive to public opinion and public clamor. This is part of our advocacy to protect the least, the last and the lost and to speak for those who are voiceless. This is another piece of legislation that is against the poor and the very vulnerable.

Broderick Pabillo

January 25, 2019

Prayer for the Leader

THERE are so many things that are not going well in the country--what with the many unresolved killings, with the unabated drug problem in spite of the drug war (or may be precisely because of the drug war), with many more people suffering under the yoke of poverty, with the growing encroachment of the Chinese! Added to these we have the unnecessary and unprovoked ranting of the President against the Catholic Church and her teachings. Many people ask in exasperation: What can we do? What should we do?

Among the many things that we can do and should do, as believers we do what we are supposed to be good at: PRAY! Pope Francis said: “What is the best that we can offer to those who govern? Prayer! That’s what Paul says: ‘Pray for all people, and for the king and for all in authority.’ A Christian who does not pray for those who govern is not a good Christian!” In the Bible there are several psalms that pray for the king.  Furthermore, we have all the more reason to pray when we feel that we are being persecuted. The Lord Jesus is clear on this: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt 5:43-44) A concrete way to love our enemies is to pray for them.

Let us not belittle the power of prayer. Jesus assures us: “I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.” (Mk 11:24) Nothing will be impossible when we pray with faith. Let us take the word of Jesus for this: "Amen, I say to you, if you have faith and do not waver, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive." (Mt 21:21-22) True prayer, however, is also to be accompanied by righteous lives. The St. James wrote: “The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.” (Jam 5:16) And still in another text we are told: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears turned to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against evildoers." (1 Pet 3:12)

So instead of just lamenting our times and allowing our anger or our sense of helplessness to take the upper hand. let us pray. Prayer calms us down and invokes the highest power to act. Let us believe in HIM and let us also believe in what we pray for. And as we pray, let us strive to live justly and not allow anger to boil over.

I myself pray for the president and sincerely do. I do not stop to point out the unjust and false things that he does and utter, but I do pray for him. My prayer for him is: LORD, CHANGE HIM! Can you join with me in this prayer?

Check and Balance of Power

Power is addictive. As is true of every addiction, one is never satisfied. One craves for more and more of it. This is also true of power. Hence it needs to be controlled. Furthermore, every addiction brings corruption.Thus power corrupts, and unrestrained power brings unrestrained corruption!

We have experienced this first hand some 46 years ago with the declaration of Martial Law. During its reign from 1972 to 1986, thousands have been killed, many more thousands have been tortured, and the country has been looted. Even the aftermath of martial law crippled us as a people--with huge debts to pay, with great injustices done by entrenched feudalism which it promoted, and with our economy and natural environment in ruins.So we repeated, and continuously repeat: Never Again!

Even if power is addictive and corruptive, we cannot have governance without power. Hence systems have to be in place to control power. Democratic governments remain healthy when the proper checks and balances to power function. The legislative makes laws, the executive meticulously implements the laws, and the judiciary sees to it that the laws are just according to the Constitution of the land and the interpretation and implementation of the laws are done properly.

The people too exercise its role in the check and balance of power by following up the performances of those in public office and make them accountable especially during elections. The mass media truthfully informs the public of what is being done by government and also serves as the voice of the people to call the attention of officials when abuses creep in.

The Human Rights Commission has been set up to safeguard the rights of the citizens, especially of the poor and the marginalized, from abuses of those who hold power. The Commission on Audit sees that the financial transactions of the government are above board. Those in the opposition have also an important role to play in the check and balance system. They carefully watch the steps of the ruling power so that they may not overstep their functions.

These checks and balances are necessary for the proper functioning of a democratic system, but they are cumbersome to those with dictatorial tendencies. They cannot do what they want. They have to be constantly vigilant, for even if they are in power there are always others who are watching them and who have the power to call them into account.

Thus those with dictatorial intentions try to bring down the checks and balances of a properly functioning democratic government. They muzzle the press by buying them out or by frightening them. Not only do they threaten the media but even kill media practitioners. They silence the opposition by buying them out with political favors or by accusing them with trumped up cases. They put them to jail,  send them out of the country, or just have them killed.

The people are deceived by propaganda and fake news. Those in authority who do not go with them are vilified by name calling and false accusations to destroy their credibility. Those who are in government positions who do not tow the line are thrown out of office by all means. Laws, and even tendentious interpretations of the laws, are being used to bring down or take away from office who dare to oppose. Don’t we see these happening in our days? Yes -in other countries, even in so-called bastions of democracy, and even in our very own country.

Do we just sit by and let these things happen? No! We need to change the narrative that is being presented to the people. Opposition in a democracy is not destabilization. Strong opposition is need to avert the abuse of power. Healthy democracy needs checks and balances.

A good democratic leader is not one who can do what he wants. He is a good and strong democratic leader when is able to lead the people together, including the opposition, to what is proper for the common good of the citizens, which is not easy to know and to do. This needs a lot of tack, listening and patient collaborative work. A person who is impulsive cannot do this. A dictatorial, physically and emotionally weak person cannot do this. Dictatorship is a sign of weakness, and not strength, so one which such tendency cannot stand checks and balances in his governance.

Popular Religiosity: Piety of the Masa

During these days we are witnessing the piety of the masa, that is, of the simple people. We call this POPULAR RELIGIOSITY. We have witnessed this in the Simbang Gabi. Droves of people went to the early dawn masses for 9 consecutive days so much so that our churches were all full during the Simbang Gabi. These dawn masses are popular even among the young who usually do not care about going to church. We witness this now in the phenomenon of the Poon Nazareno or the Black Nazarene. Millions of ordinary people, many of them young, lining up for hours to touch or kiss the image of the Jesus Nazareno and brave the hot sun the whole day, bare-footed, for a procession that could last for 22 years or more! After 10 days this will be followed by the Sto Nino festivities all over the country, known by such popular names as Sinulog, Ati-atihan, Dinagyang and other local nomenclatures.They are a combination of religiosity and festivity. Then during the Holy Week we have the VISITA IGLESIA, the processions of the SANTO ENTIERRO, and the SALUBONG. In a smaller scale we have fiesta celebrations with their processions and fluvial processions as in the Penafrancia. All of these are manifestations of popular religiosity.

Some common characteristics of these phenomena are:

• They are very popular, both in the sense that very many participate in them and in the sense that the participants mostly come from the common tao or the masa (the popular class), not the cultured or the elite.
• People exert extraordinary effort and patience to participate in them, such as staying early in the morning for consecutive days, walking bare-footed, enduring long queues and processions.
• The participants manifest a lot of energy and emotion, at times shouting, singing, or shoving and pushing. These are many times mistaken by outside observers as fanaticism. Many participants, however, consider them as ways to publicly manifest their faith in the Divine.
• These practices did not come out of official church liturgy. The official church, however, not only accommodate them but also use them to purify and deepen the faith of the people. These practices connect many people to the Church.

Pope Francis recognizes the validity of this expression of the faith among the ordinary people and the poor. He wrote in his encyclical Evangelii Gaudium:

• “Popular piety manifests a thirst for God which only the poor and the simple can know and that it makes people capable of generosity and sacrifice even to the point of heroism, when it is a question of bearing witness to belief.”  (EG 123)
• “Popular piety is a spirituality incarnated in the culture of the lowly…. Let us not stifle or presume to control this missionary power!” (EG 124) Indeed,they have missionary power because without much prodding from the official church, and even despite many precautions, they spread among the people and the young by word of mouth or by mutual influence.
• “Expressions of popular piety have much to teach us; for those who are capable of reading them, they are a locus theologicuswhich demands our attention, especially at a time when we are looking to the new evangelization.” (EG 126) Alocus theologicusmeansa source of theological reflections. The phenomenon of popular piety can show us how the faith is caught by the ordinary people and even by the unchurched. This is the aim of new evangelization.
• “Popular piety enables us to see how the faith, once received, becomes embodied in a culture and is constantly passed on.”  (EG 123)

The Holy Father looks at popular religiosity as a way that the Gospel message is being accepted and lived by the poor. So instead of looking down on these practices of the rugged crowd, let us try to understand and appreciate them. More than a religion of the head, it is an expression of the religion of the heart. Moreover, we cannot say that this is just a temporary burst of enthusiasm because many of these devotees go back year by year to the same practices, and in fact invite others to join them. Some have been doing them for years. Surely, they find something meaningful there and they experience in a tangible way through these devotions, which they have made into a panata (a vow),that God is close to them and helps them.