ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Zamboanga City Rehabilitation Center (ZCRC) will transfer minors detained at the jail here to the rehabilitation center of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte.
The move is in response to Republic Act No. 9344 (RA 9344), which was signed into law by President Arroyo recently to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law and promote their rehabilitation.
ZCRC warden Chief Insp. Victor Borres said his office is just waiting for the order to transfer the minors, most of whom face drug charges.
Borres said the cases of the 54 child inmates will be reviewed by a local court before they are transferred to the DSWD. The exemption granted to children does not cover civil liability.
RA 9344 exempts children 18-years-old and younger from criminal liability but subjects the offenders to an intervention program directed at factors that led the child to commit an offense.
The intervention program includes individual treatment, counseling, skills training, education and other activities that will enhance the child’s well-being. (Nonoy E. Lacson)
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