A court playhouse for child witnesses

A day in court may also be playtime for children. Right inside the Hall of Justice building in Virac town in Catanduanes, a corner playhouse was put up and inaugurated by Executive Judge Lelu P. Contreras of the regional trial court on Dec. 16.

Other courts usually designate small rooms or playpens, Contreras said.

Children who come to court in Virac, either as crime victims, witnesses or companions of litigant parents, can now stay in the playhouse, an alternative facility to the courtroom where the atmosphere may be gloomy, unfamiliar and even threatening.

Colorfully painted and draped, the wooden playhouse at RTC Branch 43 offers toys, a plastic slide, books and a bed—in case a young visitor decides to take a nap.

During the blessing ceremony presided by Rev. Fr. Renato dela Rosa, San Miguel parish priest, on Dec. 16 last year, the special guest, Nancy Cua, the wife of Gov. Joseph Cua, was so impressed by the facility that she pledged to donate a television set and electric fan.

Incest case

Contreras said the idea came to her some time ago in her sala when a 4-year-old victim of incestuous rape was called to testify against her own father. Catanduanes has one of the highest incidences of incestuous rape, court records show.

“She was tongue-tied,” she said of the girl in Filipino.

What Contreras did was to bring the girl outside the courtroom and had her play with a plastic rocking horse that the judge had brought to her office for her grandson.

The child finally told her story to the court-appointed social worker, with direct questioning and the cross-examination questions put forth by lawyers written down and, in turn, forwarded to her. The victim answered while rocking back and forth on the toy horse.

All these were recorded using a cell-phone video which is now allowed to be submitted as evidence pursuant to a recent ruling of the Supreme Court.

Mothers

Contreras also noted that nursing women who come to court as complainants or witnesses often had to bring along their infants or toddlers. At one time, she said, one woman whose baby cried had no choice but to breast-feed the child right on the witness stand and in front of people in the courtroom.

“When I became executive judge, I immediately set out to build what I had in mind—a waiting room for children in court,” Contreras said, despite the lack of allocation for the project in the court’s budget.

Fortunately, the family of lawyer Bruno Cabrera, a former president of the Catanduanes chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), stepped in. Cabrera gave a sizeable donation from one of his children based in the United States and, with lumber and other materials donated by Gov. Cua, construction began two months ago.

The playhouse can be used by grown-up children brought along by litigant parents, as they are now allowed inside the courtroom, Contreras remarked.

Court employees can also leave their children during office hours in the safety of the playhouse, which will be supervised by one of their colleagues.

Donations

“We are waiting for generous persons to donate used books and toys,” Contreras said. The Asia Foundation has promised to send children’s books from abroad.

The Supreme Court has yet to designate a family court in Catanduanes. Under existing rules, courts have to abide by child-friendly procedures mandated by the high court under its groundbreaking Rules on Examination of Child Witnesses, including the use of special persons to assist the child when he or she is in court, and providing kid witnesses with toys, pillows and other “security blankets.”

Nothing in the rules mandate the courts to provide a more child-friendly environment in cases involving children, Contreras noted.

The Catanduanes RTC’s use of cell-phone video of child witnesses may still be inferior to the modern video-conferencing technology now available in selected family courts in the country. But Contreras has shown the way in which the local courts can strive to achieve justice and provide a caring atmosphere for both child victims and witnesses.