MANILA, Philippines – In an effort to take care of the welfare of some youth offenders facing different charges, the Caloocan City government Tuesday asked the Yakap Bata Holding Center to continue helping them.

This is in line with the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9344 or The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri said.

Echiverri said the Yakap Bata Holding Center which is under the office of the City Social Welfare Department, is tasked to continue caring for  Children in Conflict with the Law (CiCL) who are under their custody.

Under Section 4 of RA 9344, a youthful offender is defined as “child in conflict with law who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged as, committed an offense in Philippine laws.”

The mayor noted that children who are hauled off to the juvenile prison for various offenses or crimes allegedly committed by them that sometimes they did not want to commit or they were just forced to do because of alleged lack of proper care from their parents.

"Extreme poverty is one of the reasons that push these youths into committing crime, which eventually put these youngsters to jail," the mayor said.

The problem has prompted the mayor to decide that it would be best to set up the Yakap Bata Holding Center where some 31 youngsters are now receiving care and patronage from the city social welfare department.

Last month, the government required these youths to undergo a series of seminars and lectures that taught them to be good citizens and law-abiding individuals. They were involved to activities such as read-along and livelihood trainings.