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(NAR) VOL. 5 NO. 1/JANUARY - MARCH 1994
[ DOJ, January 02, 1994 ]
RULES AND REGULATIONS ON CHILDREN IN SITUATIONS OF ARMED CONFLICT
Pursuant to Section 32 of Republic Act No. 7610 entitled "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR STRONGER DETERRENCE AND SPECIAL PROTECTION AGAINST CHILD ABUSE, EXPLOITATION AND DISCRIMINATION, PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR ITS VIOLATION AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," the following rules and regulations are hereby issued to implement Article X of said Act concerning "Children In Situations Of Armed Conflict":
SECTION 1. Definition of Terms. — As used in these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires
a. Armed conflict refers to any conflict between government forces and organized groups which involves the actual use of armed force and which disrupts normal social, economic, political and cultural activities in a specific geographical area;
b. Government forces refers to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and other armed groups supporting the government forces;
c. Child refers to one who is below eighteen (18) years of age;
d. Social worker refers to a social welfare and development officer of a local government unit;
e. Non-government worker refers to a member of a duly licensed private group or entity that has been accredited by the appropriate government agency concerned to perform primary health and emergency relief services. The term includes doctors, nurses, dentist, trained community health workers and allied professionals such as social workers and volunteer relief workers;
f. Government worker refers to a public officer or employee who provides health, educational, social and relief services;
g. Service worker refers to a social worker, a government or non-government worker;
h. Department refers to the Department of Social Welfare and Development of the national government or a duly authorized officer thereof; and
i. Commission refers to the Commission on Human Rights.
SECTION 2. Policy. — Children shall be considered as zones of peace and shall enjoy the protection of the State against dangers arising from an armed conflict.
SECTION 3. Non-Recruitment of Children. — Children shall not be recruited or employed by government forces to perform or engage in activities necessary to and in direct connection with an armed conflict either as a soldier, guide, courier or in a similar capacity which would result in his being identified as an active member of an organized group that is hostile to the government forces.
SECTION 4. Use of Public Infrastructure for Military Purposes. — Hospitals, rural health units, school buildings, madaris, day care centers, barangay halls, places of worship and similar places shall not be utilized by government forces as a command post, detachment, supply depot or similar facility.
SECTION 5. Delivery of Basic Services by Government Workers. — Consistent with the needs of public safety, government forces shall facilitate and assure the delivery by government workers of goods and basic services; such as education, primary health and emergency relief services, to their field units in areas of armed conflict.
SECTION 6. Delivery of Basic Services by Non-Government Workers. — Government forces shall allow non-government workers to visit evacuation centers to provide health, educational and social services and to render relief assistance to the evacuees thereat.
SECTION 7. Free Passage of Service Workers and Flow of Goods. — The government forces shall coordinate with the Peace and Order Council (POC) concerned and the social worker in ensuring, under normal conditions, the immediate and unimpeded flow to and from areas of armed conflict, of health personnel and patients, medical supplies and equipment, foodstuffs and other basic necessities, and relief goods.
SECTION 8. Limitation of Entry Into Areas of Armed Conflict. — The government forces may prevent or limit the entry of service workers and the delivery of goods into an area of armed conflict if the same will interfere directly with ongoing combat operations, or will endanger the lives or safety of service workers or those delivering the goods.
Any dispute arising from the restriction of the flow of goods and services shall be resolved by the POC concerned.
If the POC upholds the temporary restriction of the flow of goods and services, the POC shall expedite the release of the goods or the rendition of the services upon the termination of combat operations, provided that in no case shall said temporary suspension be for a period longer than three (3) days, and provided further, that in no case shall the restriction lead to the starvation of those inside the combat area.
In emergency situations, the government forces shall adopt special measures to allow relief goods and needed services to reach children in the combat area. In such a case, the government forces may, if requested, provide protection to ensure the delivery of said goods and services to the children.
SECTION 9. Activities Prior to Armed Conflict. — In case of a threatened or impending outbreak of an armed conflict, a social worker shall
a. identify, in consultation with government forces, the areas where serious combat action is likely to occur and the evacuation areas or centers;
b. prepare a master list of the families in the affected areas, with a separate list of children and a written assessment of their requirements for food, medicine and other basic needs;
c. recommend the activation of the local Disaster Coordinating Council; and
d. conduct disaster preparedness orientation meetings in coordination with government and non-government organizations.
The social worker shall submit a copy of the results of the activities enumerated in paragraphs a and b above to the Department.
SECTION 10. Evacuation Priority. — Before and upon the outbreak of an armed conflict, children shall be the first to be rescued, evacuated and given assistance.
In the evacuation of children, the social worker shall, in coordination with the government forces and the local Disaster Coordinating Council and non-government organizations, place the children to be evacuated under the care of persons who shall be responsible for their transfer to an evacuation area/center; Provided, that the separation of children from their families shall be avoided and if this is not possible, the social worker shall ensure that at least one parent or relative shall accompany the child in the evacuation area/center.
SECTION 11. Monitoring and Report on Children in Situations of Armed Conflict. — Within twenty-four (24) hours from the occurrence of combat action between the government and hostile forces, the chairman of the affected barangay, or in his absence, any member of the Sangguniang Barangay, shall submit to the social worker a list of the children residing in the barangay. The list shall be used to determine the children who were evacuated and to ascertain their whereabouts.
SECTION 12. Family Life and Temporary Shelter. — The Department shall establish the minimum standards for evacuation centers.
Whenever possible, members of the same family shall be housed in the same premises in an evacuation center or other temporary shelter; given separate accommodations from other evacuees; and provided with facilities to enable them to lead a normal family life. Children shall be given opportunities for early childhood care and development, alternative learning system, physical exercise, sports and outdoor games. They shall be given immunization and protection from endemic diseases and with nursing mothers, given food in proportion to their physiological needs. When necessary, children shall be provided psycho-social intervention.
SECTION 13. Unaccompanied Children. — The social worker shall identify the children who have been separated from their parents or guardians during an evacuation. Said children shall be provided with individual and sustained care in the evacuation center to minimize stress. The name of the unaccompanied child shall be registered by the head of the evacuation center or social worker in a record book to be opened and maintained for said purpose. Whenever practicable, the child shall be photographed and an individual file shall be made containing all available information about him.
Efforts shall be made to ensure the early reunion of the unaccompanied child with his parents or guardians.
SECTION 14. Return of Evacuees to their Homes. — The government forces shall allow the evacuees to return to their homes or to be reunited with their families as soon as tactical considerations permit.
SECTION 15. Rights of Child Under the Custody of Government Forces. — A child who is taken into custody by government forces in an area of armed conflict shall be informed of his constitutional rights and treated humanely. He shall not be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or used in a military operation in any capacity. The government forces shall ensure the physical safety of the child under its custody; provide him with food and the necessary medical attention or treatment; and remove him from the area of armed conflict and transfer him at the earliest possible time to higher echelons of command/office for proper disposition.
The government forces shall, within twenty-four hours after the child is transferred to a military camp, inform the parents or guardians of the child and the social worker or the Department, of the presence of the child in the said camp.
SECTION 16. Transfer of Child to the Philippine National Police. — In case a child is taken into custody by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military commander concerned shall immediately transfer custody over said child to the nearest station of the Philippine National Police, preferably to the Child and Youth Relations unit thereof. Whenever possible, the parents of the child shall be given previous notice of said transfer.
In the proper case, the affidavits/statements of the persons who have personal knowledge of the child's offense shall be transmitted by the military commander concerned to the Philippine National Police.
SECTION 17. Duty of Philippine National Police. — Immediately after a child is taken into custody of the Philippine National Police in an area of armed conflict or upon receipt of custody of a child from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the police officer concerned shall
a. arrest/detain the suspect and notify the parents or guardian of the child and the Commission, the Department or social worker of the detention;
b. refer the case of the child to the nearest public or private agency which provides free legal assistance; and
c. give the child a thorough physical and mental examination as required under Article 10 of Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended.
SECTION 18. Place of Detention of Child. — The government forces shall keep the child who is taken into custody in a detention/jail facility that is separate from adults, except where the child and his family are accommodated in a family detention unit.
Whenever practicable, the child shall be provided alternative education while under detention.
SECTION 19. Visitation Rights of the Child. — The family members, relatives, friends, legal counsels of the child under custody shall be granted free access to the detention center where the child is held. Private physicians and other health personnel shall be given the same access in accordance with existing government guidelines on the matter.
SECTION 20. Referral of Case to Prosecutor. — If warranted, the Philippine National Police shall forward the records of the investigation of the case of the child under custody to the prosecutor concerned for the conduct of an inquest and/or preliminary investigation to determine whether or not the child should remain under custody and correspondingly charged in court.
SECTION 21. Visitation of Child. — Upon being informed of the detention/arrest of the child by government forces, the Department or the local representative of the Commission shall immediately visit the child to determine the observance by the government forces of the human rights of the suspect.
As used herein, the term "human rights" refers to the rights of children under the Philippine Constitution, Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended, Republic Act No. 7610, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Geneva Conventions Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Conflicts (Protocol II), relevant laws and government issuances.
SECTION 22. Reports of Violation of Rights of Children. — Reports of specific incidents of violations of human rights of children in situations of armed conflict shall be filed with the Department or the Commission or non-governmental organizations duly accredited by the Commission to monitor human rights violations. The Commission shall forward said reports to the general headquarters of the government forces or may file in the same directly with the office of the city/provincial prosecutor for appropriate action.
SECTION 23. Filing of Complaint Information. — If the evidence submitted in the inquest/preliminary investigation engenders a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and the child is probably guilty thereof, the prosecutor shall file the corresponding complaint/information against the child in court.
SECTION 24. Release of Child on Recognizance. — Within twenty-four (24) hours after the filing of a criminal complaint/information against the child in court, the legal counsel of the child, or in his absence, the representative of the Department or Commission may request the appropriate Court to release the child on recognizance to the representative of the Department or Commission or to any responsible member of the community who shall be responsible for the child's appearance in court. The child who is released on recognizance may be placed with a family, in a government rehabilitation center, or in an accredited welfare agency.
SECTION 25. Suspension of Sentence. — If after hearing, the court finds that the child committed the acts charged against him, the court shall determine the impossible penalty, including any civil liability chargeable against him.
However, instead of pronouncing judgment of conviction, the court shall suspend all further proceeding and shall commit the child to the custody or care of the Department, or to any training institution operated by the Government, or duly licensed agency, or any responsible person, until he has reached eighteen years of age or for a shorter period as the court may deem proper, after considering the reports and recommendation of the Department, or the licensed agency, or responsible individual under whose care the child had been committed.
The child shall be subject to visitation and supervision by the Department or any duly licensed agency or such other officer as the court may designate, subject to such conditions as it may prescribe.
SECTION 26. Appeal. — The child whose sentence is suspended can appeal from the order of the court in the same manner as appeals in criminal cases. He shall be accorded the rights and privileges enjoyed by a Youth Offender under the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended.
SECTION 27. Effectivity. — These Rules shall take effect upon approval by the Secretary of Justice and fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Adopted: 21 Jan. 1994.
CONFORME:
SECTION 1. Definition of Terms. — As used in these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires
a. Armed conflict refers to any conflict between government forces and organized groups which involves the actual use of armed force and which disrupts normal social, economic, political and cultural activities in a specific geographical area;
b. Government forces refers to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and other armed groups supporting the government forces;
c. Child refers to one who is below eighteen (18) years of age;
d. Social worker refers to a social welfare and development officer of a local government unit;
e. Non-government worker refers to a member of a duly licensed private group or entity that has been accredited by the appropriate government agency concerned to perform primary health and emergency relief services. The term includes doctors, nurses, dentist, trained community health workers and allied professionals such as social workers and volunteer relief workers;
f. Government worker refers to a public officer or employee who provides health, educational, social and relief services;
g. Service worker refers to a social worker, a government or non-government worker;
h. Department refers to the Department of Social Welfare and Development of the national government or a duly authorized officer thereof; and
i. Commission refers to the Commission on Human Rights.
SECTION 2. Policy. — Children shall be considered as zones of peace and shall enjoy the protection of the State against dangers arising from an armed conflict.
SECTION 3. Non-Recruitment of Children. — Children shall not be recruited or employed by government forces to perform or engage in activities necessary to and in direct connection with an armed conflict either as a soldier, guide, courier or in a similar capacity which would result in his being identified as an active member of an organized group that is hostile to the government forces.
SECTION 4. Use of Public Infrastructure for Military Purposes. — Hospitals, rural health units, school buildings, madaris, day care centers, barangay halls, places of worship and similar places shall not be utilized by government forces as a command post, detachment, supply depot or similar facility.
SECTION 5. Delivery of Basic Services by Government Workers. — Consistent with the needs of public safety, government forces shall facilitate and assure the delivery by government workers of goods and basic services; such as education, primary health and emergency relief services, to their field units in areas of armed conflict.
SECTION 6. Delivery of Basic Services by Non-Government Workers. — Government forces shall allow non-government workers to visit evacuation centers to provide health, educational and social services and to render relief assistance to the evacuees thereat.
SECTION 7. Free Passage of Service Workers and Flow of Goods. — The government forces shall coordinate with the Peace and Order Council (POC) concerned and the social worker in ensuring, under normal conditions, the immediate and unimpeded flow to and from areas of armed conflict, of health personnel and patients, medical supplies and equipment, foodstuffs and other basic necessities, and relief goods.
SECTION 8. Limitation of Entry Into Areas of Armed Conflict. — The government forces may prevent or limit the entry of service workers and the delivery of goods into an area of armed conflict if the same will interfere directly with ongoing combat operations, or will endanger the lives or safety of service workers or those delivering the goods.
Any dispute arising from the restriction of the flow of goods and services shall be resolved by the POC concerned.
If the POC upholds the temporary restriction of the flow of goods and services, the POC shall expedite the release of the goods or the rendition of the services upon the termination of combat operations, provided that in no case shall said temporary suspension be for a period longer than three (3) days, and provided further, that in no case shall the restriction lead to the starvation of those inside the combat area.
In emergency situations, the government forces shall adopt special measures to allow relief goods and needed services to reach children in the combat area. In such a case, the government forces may, if requested, provide protection to ensure the delivery of said goods and services to the children.
SECTION 9. Activities Prior to Armed Conflict. — In case of a threatened or impending outbreak of an armed conflict, a social worker shall
a. identify, in consultation with government forces, the areas where serious combat action is likely to occur and the evacuation areas or centers;
b. prepare a master list of the families in the affected areas, with a separate list of children and a written assessment of their requirements for food, medicine and other basic needs;
c. recommend the activation of the local Disaster Coordinating Council; and
d. conduct disaster preparedness orientation meetings in coordination with government and non-government organizations.
The social worker shall submit a copy of the results of the activities enumerated in paragraphs a and b above to the Department.
SECTION 10. Evacuation Priority. — Before and upon the outbreak of an armed conflict, children shall be the first to be rescued, evacuated and given assistance.
In the evacuation of children, the social worker shall, in coordination with the government forces and the local Disaster Coordinating Council and non-government organizations, place the children to be evacuated under the care of persons who shall be responsible for their transfer to an evacuation area/center; Provided, that the separation of children from their families shall be avoided and if this is not possible, the social worker shall ensure that at least one parent or relative shall accompany the child in the evacuation area/center.
SECTION 11. Monitoring and Report on Children in Situations of Armed Conflict. — Within twenty-four (24) hours from the occurrence of combat action between the government and hostile forces, the chairman of the affected barangay, or in his absence, any member of the Sangguniang Barangay, shall submit to the social worker a list of the children residing in the barangay. The list shall be used to determine the children who were evacuated and to ascertain their whereabouts.
SECTION 12. Family Life and Temporary Shelter. — The Department shall establish the minimum standards for evacuation centers.
Whenever possible, members of the same family shall be housed in the same premises in an evacuation center or other temporary shelter; given separate accommodations from other evacuees; and provided with facilities to enable them to lead a normal family life. Children shall be given opportunities for early childhood care and development, alternative learning system, physical exercise, sports and outdoor games. They shall be given immunization and protection from endemic diseases and with nursing mothers, given food in proportion to their physiological needs. When necessary, children shall be provided psycho-social intervention.
SECTION 13. Unaccompanied Children. — The social worker shall identify the children who have been separated from their parents or guardians during an evacuation. Said children shall be provided with individual and sustained care in the evacuation center to minimize stress. The name of the unaccompanied child shall be registered by the head of the evacuation center or social worker in a record book to be opened and maintained for said purpose. Whenever practicable, the child shall be photographed and an individual file shall be made containing all available information about him.
Efforts shall be made to ensure the early reunion of the unaccompanied child with his parents or guardians.
SECTION 14. Return of Evacuees to their Homes. — The government forces shall allow the evacuees to return to their homes or to be reunited with their families as soon as tactical considerations permit.
SECTION 15. Rights of Child Under the Custody of Government Forces. — A child who is taken into custody by government forces in an area of armed conflict shall be informed of his constitutional rights and treated humanely. He shall not be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or used in a military operation in any capacity. The government forces shall ensure the physical safety of the child under its custody; provide him with food and the necessary medical attention or treatment; and remove him from the area of armed conflict and transfer him at the earliest possible time to higher echelons of command/office for proper disposition.
The government forces shall, within twenty-four hours after the child is transferred to a military camp, inform the parents or guardians of the child and the social worker or the Department, of the presence of the child in the said camp.
SECTION 16. Transfer of Child to the Philippine National Police. — In case a child is taken into custody by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military commander concerned shall immediately transfer custody over said child to the nearest station of the Philippine National Police, preferably to the Child and Youth Relations unit thereof. Whenever possible, the parents of the child shall be given previous notice of said transfer.
In the proper case, the affidavits/statements of the persons who have personal knowledge of the child's offense shall be transmitted by the military commander concerned to the Philippine National Police.
SECTION 17. Duty of Philippine National Police. — Immediately after a child is taken into custody of the Philippine National Police in an area of armed conflict or upon receipt of custody of a child from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the police officer concerned shall
a. arrest/detain the suspect and notify the parents or guardian of the child and the Commission, the Department or social worker of the detention;
b. refer the case of the child to the nearest public or private agency which provides free legal assistance; and
c. give the child a thorough physical and mental examination as required under Article 10 of Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended.
SECTION 18. Place of Detention of Child. — The government forces shall keep the child who is taken into custody in a detention/jail facility that is separate from adults, except where the child and his family are accommodated in a family detention unit.
Whenever practicable, the child shall be provided alternative education while under detention.
SECTION 19. Visitation Rights of the Child. — The family members, relatives, friends, legal counsels of the child under custody shall be granted free access to the detention center where the child is held. Private physicians and other health personnel shall be given the same access in accordance with existing government guidelines on the matter.
SECTION 20. Referral of Case to Prosecutor. — If warranted, the Philippine National Police shall forward the records of the investigation of the case of the child under custody to the prosecutor concerned for the conduct of an inquest and/or preliminary investigation to determine whether or not the child should remain under custody and correspondingly charged in court.
SECTION 21. Visitation of Child. — Upon being informed of the detention/arrest of the child by government forces, the Department or the local representative of the Commission shall immediately visit the child to determine the observance by the government forces of the human rights of the suspect.
As used herein, the term "human rights" refers to the rights of children under the Philippine Constitution, Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended, Republic Act No. 7610, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Geneva Conventions Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Conflicts (Protocol II), relevant laws and government issuances.
SECTION 22. Reports of Violation of Rights of Children. — Reports of specific incidents of violations of human rights of children in situations of armed conflict shall be filed with the Department or the Commission or non-governmental organizations duly accredited by the Commission to monitor human rights violations. The Commission shall forward said reports to the general headquarters of the government forces or may file in the same directly with the office of the city/provincial prosecutor for appropriate action.
SECTION 23. Filing of Complaint Information. — If the evidence submitted in the inquest/preliminary investigation engenders a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and the child is probably guilty thereof, the prosecutor shall file the corresponding complaint/information against the child in court.
SECTION 24. Release of Child on Recognizance. — Within twenty-four (24) hours after the filing of a criminal complaint/information against the child in court, the legal counsel of the child, or in his absence, the representative of the Department or Commission may request the appropriate Court to release the child on recognizance to the representative of the Department or Commission or to any responsible member of the community who shall be responsible for the child's appearance in court. The child who is released on recognizance may be placed with a family, in a government rehabilitation center, or in an accredited welfare agency.
SECTION 25. Suspension of Sentence. — If after hearing, the court finds that the child committed the acts charged against him, the court shall determine the impossible penalty, including any civil liability chargeable against him.
However, instead of pronouncing judgment of conviction, the court shall suspend all further proceeding and shall commit the child to the custody or care of the Department, or to any training institution operated by the Government, or duly licensed agency, or any responsible person, until he has reached eighteen years of age or for a shorter period as the court may deem proper, after considering the reports and recommendation of the Department, or the licensed agency, or responsible individual under whose care the child had been committed.
The child shall be subject to visitation and supervision by the Department or any duly licensed agency or such other officer as the court may designate, subject to such conditions as it may prescribe.
SECTION 26. Appeal. — The child whose sentence is suspended can appeal from the order of the court in the same manner as appeals in criminal cases. He shall be accorded the rights and privileges enjoyed by a Youth Offender under the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended.
SECTION 27. Effectivity. — These Rules shall take effect upon approval by the Secretary of Justice and fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Adopted: 21 Jan. 1994.
(Sgd.) FRANKLIN M. DRILON
Secretary of Justice
Secretary of Justice
CONFORME:
(Sgd.) CORAZON ALMA G. DE LEON
Secretary of Social Welfare and Development
Secretary of Social Welfare and Development