UP Law Center conducts barangay legal education seminar in Gensan

By Nirvana Alpha Vita G. Fruylan

Tuesday 14th of August 2012

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Aug 14 (PIA) --The University of the Philippines (UP) Law Center Training and Convention Division conducted here last week a two-day Barangay Legal Education Seminar (BLES) designed to reorient participants on the implementation of RA 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act and RA 9262, the Anti-Violence against Women and their Children (VAWC) Act.

“We want to know how the barangay and other law enforcement agencies handle VAWC and other cases involving Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) to keep up with the research of the law center in identifying the gaps in laws and policies ,” said lawyer Vincent Pepito Yambao,Jr., assistant director of BLES Project.

Almost a hundred participants composed of local officials from the different barangays of Gensan, police personnel in charge of the Women and Children Protection desk of the Philippine National Police (PNP), and representatives from the academe, media and religious sector attended the seminar-workshop.

Lawyer Marwil Llasos lectured on VAWC and the initiatives for dialogue and empowerment through alternative legal services to address the legal and technical needs of the marginalized and disempowered women and children in the country.

Llasos put emphasis on the duties of barangay officials and other law enforcers especially on the issuance of protection orders “to prevent further acts of violence against a woman or her child.”

In securing a Barangay Protection Order (BPO), Llasos explained that in the absence of the Punong Barangay any available Barangay Kagawad can issue the protection order to the applicant on the date of filing after “ex parte” determination of the basis of the application.

“Ex parte means from one party; the BPO can be issued to the applicant even without hearing the side of the respondent,” he clarified.

Another resource person, Atty. Eric Henry Joseph Mallonga talked about the Juvenile Justice System and explained several initiatives on how to address the problem on CICL.

“If there is a better enforcement or implementation of the law the population of CICL should be drastically reduced,” he pointed out.

Mallonga, however, expressed opposition to repeal the Juvenile Justice Law specifically the reinstatement of the age of criminal liability to 11 years old.

“What we need is a restorative justice system. We need to restore the children rather than stigmatize them,” he said.

Instead of doing arrest, Mallonga explained that authorities should focus on giving intervention, diversion and rehabilitation for these children.

He also underscored the need to empower the parents by providing them with alternative livelihood so they do not have to exploit their children.

“We need to spell out more specific programs as alternative to criminal justice. We need to look for ways to redeem and restore these children and treat them with human dignity so to realize that as human being they have the obligation to society, to be productive,” he said.

Meanwhile, one of the participants, SPO1 Nieva Aldea found the seminar-workshop as very beneficial especially with her work as an investigator-in-charge of the General Santos City Police Office (GSCPO) Women and Children Desk.

Aldea expressed gratefulness to her “updated knowledge on legal issues concerning women and children” through the precise and “easy-to-understand” presentations of the resource speakers.

“There were cases in the past when we were skeptical to meddle on ‘family trouble,’ but now I learned that under the VAWC Law we have the duty to do so,” she said.

The Barangay Legal Education Seminar (BLES) in Gensan is in partnership with the Office of Vice Mayor Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles, Rotary Club of General Santos City, and Fontanilla& Fontanilla-Mamadra Law Office. (PGFruylan/PIA-Gensan)