Children and Youth - a True Wealth

Every nation and society is now coming to realize that its true wealth is not so much in its economic and natural resources but lies more decidedly in the kind and quality of the wealth of its children and youth. These children will shape and create the future of their societies. The youth of a nation is its power-house. They have boundless stores of energy, will, capability, zeal, and enthusiasm and have the power to mold the destiny of the nation.

It has therefore become a worldwide movement and obligatory for every nation, local government and institution to plays dynamic roles in nurturing strong, healthy and intellectual youth. Moreover, it is the responsibility of the adults to direct the youth in desired direction.

To ensure the attainment of this goal, international, national and local mechanisms and structures were established. The United Nations established the Committee on the Rights of the Child in January 2013. The Philippine government on the other hand, passed into law several laws and executive orders to ensure the protection, promotion, and preservation of the well-being of children. Primary to protect and promote is the child`s rights to survive, develop and participate

Foremost to all Philippine laws which comprehensively established mechanisms to promote child’s well-being is RA 9344, known as “ An Act Establishing a Comprehensive Juvenile Justice and Welfare system, Creating the Juvenile Justice Welfare council under the Department of Justice, Appropriating funds Therefore and for Other Purpose” or in short “the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006”. This law was passed by senate in April 28, 2006.

In the promotion efforts of the national government to implement the law, Executive Order No. 184 - ‘Establishing The Presidential Award For The Child Friendly Municipalities And Cities” was issued by President Estrada in December 13, 1999. Subsequently, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) launched the “Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance" for provinces, cities, and municipalities in April 23, 2013, a move that would further ensure the realization of children rights and welfare.

The extensiveness of RA 9344 enjoined the three branches of the government including its local government counterparts to take active roles in the implementation of its intents. The above mentioned law (RA9344) provided standards, procedures and policies in the administration of justice among young offenders referred to as Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL). The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 9344 clearly established the role of Local Government Units in the implementation of the Law.

The Local Government Unit of Nueva Vizcaya including its local sub-units is not exempted in the mandate to implement the provisions of the law. Offices under each local government shall collectively perform their task in order to fulfill the global goal of ensuring the protection of our true wealth – the youth. Each local government shall initiate actions towards the attainment of protecting the child. Hence this study attempts to profile and asses local initiatives of government local units with respect to CICL which may serve as basis to understand CICL and its programs and attempt to recommend actions to improve the implementation of CICL programs.

Objectives of the Study

The study aimed to determine the implementation of CICL Programs