As amended BY R.A.

10630
REPUBLIC ACT NO 10630
• amended certain provisions of Republic Act 9344
• renamed RA 9344 into An Act Establishing a Comprehensive Juvenile
Justice and Welfare system, Creating the Juvenile Justice and Welfare
Council under the Department of Social Welfare and Development,
Appropriating Therefor, and for Other Purposes Funds
• transferred the administrative supervision of the Juvenile Justice and
Welfare Council (JJWC) from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
• also provided for the creation of the Regional Juvenile Justice and
Welfare Council (RJJWC) in each region
• mandates the establishment of Bahay Pag-Asa and provides for its
definition
refers to a system dealing with children at
risk and children in conflict with the law,
which provides child-appropriate
proceedings, including programs and services
for prevention, diversion, rehabilitation, re-
integration and aftercare to ensure their
normal growth and development
refers to a principle which requires a process of
resolving conflicts with the maximum
involvement of the victim, the offender and the
community, seeks to obtain reparation for the
victim, reconciliation of the offender, the
offended and the community and reassurance to
the offender that he or she can be reintegrated
into society
Child – A person under 18 years old.

Child in Conflict with the Law - refers

to a child who is alleged as, accused
of, or adjudged as, having committed
an offense under Philippine laws.
Children at Risk (CAR)- refers to a child who
is vulnerable to and at the risk of
committing criminal offenses because of
personal, family and social circumstances
RIGHTS OF THE CHILD IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW
1) the right not to be imposed a sentence of capital punishment
or life imprisonment
2) the right to be detained or imprisoned as a disposition of last
resort, which shall be for the shortest appropriate period of
time
3) the right to be separated from adult offenders at all times:
during detention, while being transported to and from the
court and while waiting for the hearing
4) the right to be detained only with other detainees of the same
sex, if detention is necessary
5) the right to be searched only by a law enforcement officer of
the same gender
6) the right not to be handcuffed, when such is not
necessary
7) the right to have his parents or guardians present
8) the right to diversion if he or she is qualified and
voluntarily avails of the same
9) the right to AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION OF SENTENCE
10) the right to probation as an alternative to imprisonment,
if qualified under the Probation Law
11) the right to have the records and proceedings involving
him be considered PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL
 • A child fifteen (15) years of age or under at the
time of the commission of the offense shall be
exempt from criminal liability. However, the
child shall be subjected to an INTERVENTION
PROGRAM pursuant to Section 20 of this Act.

Minimum Age • A child is deemed to be fifteen (15) years of

age on the day of the fifteenth anniversary of
of Criminal his/her birthdate.
Responsibility • In case of doubt as to age, it shall be construed
in favor of the child

• however, they are exempted only from criminal

liability and not from civil liability
 • a child ABOVE FIFTEEN (15) YEARS OF AGE
BUT BELOW EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE
shall likewise be EXEMPT from CRIMINAL
LIABILITY, if he she or acted WITHOUT
DISCERNMENT, but he shall undergo
INTERVENTION PROGRAM
Minimum Age • a child ABOVE FIFTEEN (15) YEARS OF AGE
BUT BELOW EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE
of Criminal who acted WITH *DISCERNMENT shall be
subjected to the DIVERSION PROCEEDINGS
Responsibility and shall undergo DIVERSION PROGRAM, if
qualified
• a child ABOVE FIFTEEN (15) YEARS OF AGE
BUT BELOW EIGHTEEN (18) YEARS OF AGE
who acted WITH DISCERNMENT and who is
NOT QUALIFIED for DIVERSION, OR REFUSED
to undergo DIVERSION, shall be PROSECUTED
 The capacity of the child at the time of
the commission of the offense to
understand the differences between
right and wrong and the consequences
of the wrongful act.
DISCERNMENT
It plays an important role in the
commission of the offense.
Test for Discernment
▪The Child understand the
differences between right
and wrong and the
consequences of the
wrongful act
▪Child is aged above 15 years
old and below 18 years old.
▪Test of discernment will not
apply to CICL below 15 years
old.
Ruling on Discernment
The presence of discernment
will determine the whether the
CICL will be put to the
appropriate
1.) Intervention or
2.) Diversion program.
 • Intervention - refers to a series of
activities which are designed to address
issues that caused the child to commit
an offense.

• Diversion - refers to an alternative, child-

Intervention- appropriate process of determining the
responsibility and treatment of a CICL
without resorting to formal court
vis-à-vis- proceedings.

Diversion • Applies to both victim and victimless

crimes.
• If penalty exceeds 6 years, diversion
measures can only be decided by the
court
Applicability of Intervention
and Diversion
• Intervention programs are usually called
upon when the child has acted without
discernment.
➢Its primary focus is to make the child understand,
comprehend, and educate him for the wrong he did.

• Diversion on the other hand,

presupposes that the child already has
discernment.
➢This program’s feature is to redirect the CICL’s
energy into a more productive and rehabilitative
manner.
 • Refers to the programs provided
in a community setting
Community- developed for purposes of:
based • intervention
• diversion
Programs • rehabilitation of the CICL
• reintegration into his/her family
and/or community.
 • The child shall be subjected to a
community-based intervention
program supervised by the local
social welfare and development
Community- officer.

based • Unless the best interest of the child

interventions requires the referral of the child to a
youth care facility or ‘Bahay Pag-Asa’
managed by LGUs or licensed and/or
accredited NGOs monitored by the
DSWD.
The LSWD Officer:
• Determines that the child is abandoned, neglected or
abused by his parents, and it is in the best interest of the
child.

• The child’s parents or guardians shall execute a written

authorization for the voluntary commitment of the child.

• IfRole
no parents or guardians are found, he shall
of the Local Social Welfare and Developmentfile the
proper petition for involuntary
Officer commitment.
•If found to be a neglected child under PD
603, the appropriate community-based
intervention which will be decided by
authorities such as DSWD, LSWD.

CICL below 12 years old

 • This refers to a 24-hour
child-caring institution
Bahay Pag-Asa established, funded and
(RA 10630) managed by LGU’s and
licensed and/or accredited
NGO’s.
 ➢It provides short-term residential care
for CICL 12-18 years of age who are
awaiting court disposition of their
cases or transfer to other agencies or
jurisdiction.

➢It covers both who acted with and

without discernment.

➢Features an Intensive Juvenile

Intervention and Support Center.
Features
➢Minimum age for children committed
to a youth care facility or ‘Bahay Pag-
asa’ shall be twelve (12) years old
 ▪ Children below Criminal Responsibility –
12-15 years old.

▪ Children’s 15-18 years old – Committing

crimes punishable by more than 12 years
imprisonment.
CICL Pag-Asa
will cater ▪ CICL 15-18 years old repeat offenders -
Provided that the child was previously
subjected to a community-based
intervention program, shall be deemed a
neglected child under Presidential Decree
No. 603,
children in conflict with the law shall undergo diversion
proceedings subject to the following conditions:
1) the imposable penalty for the crime committed is NOT MORE
THAN SIX (6) YEARS IMPRISONMENT
2) in victimless crimes, the imposable penalty is NOT MORE
THAN SIX (6) YEARS IMPRISONMENT
3) 3) in cases where the imposable penalty exceeds six (6) years,
diversion measures may be resorted to only by the court
***the diversion proceedings shall be completed within FORTY-FIVE (45) DAYS
• shall be prepared if the child:
1) is qualified for diversion, and
2) voluntarily admits the commission of the act and
the parents or guardian of the child and the child
himself agrees to the diversion program

• it must be signed by the child's parents or

guardian and the authorities concerned
a child in conflict with the law shall undergo
PROSECUTION if,
1) he is not qualified for diversion
2) he is qualified for diversion but he or his parents or
guardian does not agree to diversion
3) Diversion is not appropriate for the child in conflict
with the law, based on the social worker's
recommendations
•there shall be a specially-trained prosecutor to
conduct inquest, preliminary investigation and
prosecution of cases involving children in
conflict with the law
•the information against the child shall be filed
before the Family Court within FORTY- FIVE
DAYS from the start of the preliminary
investigation
COURT PROCEEDINGS -during trial, the court shall order
1) the release of the child on recognizance to his or her parents
and other suitable persons
2) the release of the child on bail
3) if the child is to be detained, the transfer of the child to a youth
detention home

**detention of the child shall be ordered only as a last resort

• if the child in conflict with the law is found guilty of the offense
charged, the court shall place the child under suspended sentence,
without need of application

• the automatic suspension of sentence may be extended until the child

reaches the maximum age of TWENTY-ONE (21) YEARS OLD

• the court shall order the detention of the child in a youth rehabilitation
center where he shall undergo the appropriate disposition measures
DISCHARGE OF THE CHILD IN CONFLICT
WITH THE LAW

upon the recommendation of the social worker who

has custody of the child, the court shall DISMISS THE
CASE AGAINST THE CHILD if the court finds that the
disposition measures have been fulfilled
RETURN OF THE CHILD IN CONFLICT
WITH THE LAW TO COURT
if the court finds that the objective of the disposition
measures imposed upon the child have not been fulfilled, or if
the child has willfully failed to comply with the conditions of his
or her rehabilitation program, the child shall be returned to
court for the EXECUTION OF JUDGMENT
PROBATION
a child in conflict with the law whose sentence
was executed by the court upon reaching the
maximum age of TWENTY- ONE (21) shall be
entitled to the benefits of probation under PD
968, the Probation Law of 1976
OFFENSES NOT APPLICABLE TO CHILDREN

persons below eighteen (18) years old shall be

exempt from prosecution for the following crimes.
1) vagrancy and prostitution under the Revised Penal
Code
2) mendicancy under PD No 1563
3) sniffing of rugby under PD 1619
Crimes classified as serious crimes by RA10630
1) parricide,
2) murder,
3) infanticide,
4) kidnapping and serious illegal detention where the victim is killed or raped,
5) robbery with homicide,
6) robbery with rape,
7) destructive arson,
8) rape,
9) carnapping where the driver or occupant is killed or raped, and
10) offenses under Republic Act No 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs
Act of 2002 that are punishable by more than twelve (12)years of imprisonment
• provides that a child who is above twelve (12) years of age up to
fifteen (15) years of age who committed any of the crimes
classified as serious crime shall be deemed a neglected child and
shall be mandatorily placed in Bahay Pag-asa under its Intensive
Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (Section 20-A of RA
10630

• CICL whose age is above twelve (12) but below fifteen (15) who
will commit a serious crime as defined must be taken to Bahay
Pag- asa instead, despite being exempted from criminal liability
REPETITION OF OFFENSES
a CICL whose age is above twelve (12) up to fifteen (15)
years old, who had already been subjected to a
community-based intervention program for a
commission of a crime and who would again commit
another crime, shall also be deemed as a neglected
child and shall be mandatorily placed in Bahay Pag-asa
to undergo an intensive intervention program
supervised by the DSWD (Section 20-B of RA 10630)
EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN FOR
COMMISSION OF CRIMES
any person who shall abuse his authority over a
child, or who shall induce, threaten or instigate a child
to commit a crime, is punishable for the crime
committed by the child and the penalty to be imposed
shall be the maximum penalty provided by law
(Section 20-C of RA 10630)
VIOLATIONS OF LOCAL ORDINANCES
Section 57-A of RA 10630 exempts children from punishment for the following
violations of city or municipal ordinances.
1) curfew,
2) truancy,
3) parental disobedience,
4) smoking.
5) drinking,
6) disorderly conduct,
7) public scandal,
8) harassment,
9) drunkenness,
10) public intoxication,
11) criminal nuisance,
12) vandalism;
13) Gambling
14) mendicancy,15) littering,16) public urination, and17) trespassing.
• a child who will be violating any city or municipal
ordinance related to the enumerated acts above shall be
exempt from criminal liability but an appropriate
intervention program will be provided for him
• in this particular instance, children who shall be caught
violating city or municipal ordinances will not be called
children in conflict with the law, instead, they will be
referred to as child at risk in all official documents and
records