Turning young offenders into responsible people

BAUANG, La Union—The gate to the sprawling facility along the national highway in Bauang, La Union, is wide open. Near it, children sweeping the pathway of leaves greet visitors and politely lead them inside.

In one building, a group of boys was working on puzzles. In another building, some were baking bread and some processing meat into “tocino” and “embutido.”

In a room, a 17-year-old boy charged with rape reads a Grade 4 textbook, while a 16-year-old facing a complaint for theft, works on a Grade 5 math problem. Under a tree, a boy plays a guitar. At noon, a group of boys studying in a nearby school comes for lunch.

It would be difficult to believe that the two-hectare center in Barangay Urayong is a rehabilitation center for children in conflict with the law (CICL) and that young people living there are accused of murder, homicide, rape and other crimes.

This is the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth, a facility run by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Male residents undergo intensive treatment and rehabilitation here to prepare them for reintegration to their families and communities.

“The gate is open because we don’t want them to feel they are in prison. This should be a home away from home for them. Here they are treated like victims who need help and really, most of them are victims of abuse, parental neglect, exploitation, poverty and peer pressure,” says Helen Nerona, the center’s head.

The boys are free to roam around the tree-lined center, which has a dormitory, function rooms, a multipurpose hall and wide areas for playing and gardening.

The CICL, called “residents,” are boys between 15 and 18 who are ordered by the court to undergo rehabilitation while waiting for the suspension of their cases. But records also showed older residents, including a 24-year-old from Pangasinan.

At present, the center has 66 residents, including 22 charged with rape, 11 with murder, nine with robbery, and eight with theft. The rest are facing charges for homicide and illegal drugs, malicious mischief, frustrated murder, frustrated homicide, car theft and robbery with intimidation.

Nerona says each child has a “management plan” that considers his strengths and weaknesses. This is done through a case study undertaken by a team composed of a social worker, a psychologist, a nurse or a doctor, a house parent, a teacher and a manpower development officer.

But while there is a specific program for each, the facility provides overall programs and services that include social (group counseling sessions, therapy), home life (chores, personal hygiene), productivity (skills training), educational (non-formal and formal education, alternative learning system), spiritual and psychological.

A very important part of the rehabilitation process is the “life skills activity,” which starts with introspection on why they are committed to the facility and what they can do to be better, says Rolando Cortez, supervising house parent.

Since many of the boys are facing rape complaints, respect for women is one of the lessons inculcated in them, Cortez says.

Twenty-four residents attend the Alternative Learning System (ALS) for elementary or high school, seven are given functional literacy lessons, while 21 attend a nearby regular school.

This year, several training courses have been conducted for the boys. These include plumbing, hair cutting and styling, food processing, baking, masonry and welding.

A resident’s stay depends on his behavior. The center follows a rating system based on 10 behavioral factors, such as self-control and discipline, honesty, helpfulness and personal hygiene. Those who get a rating of 90-100 percent are recommended for discharge.

The facility does not offer magic to turn the young offenders into responsible people. Few have to be recommended back to jail as they are a threat to the safety of residents and staff.

And while it is doing its best to mold them into better, law abiding persons, the center has no data on the success rate of the boys’ reintegration into society. They could be back to the same situation they were in, where their parents are not supportive, indifferent and negligent.

“Chances are they will return to their own ways,” Cortez said.