Change the System, Free the Children

Hundreds of Filipino children and youth suffer incredible harm and abuse in jails and in government youth detention centers. Many are sexually abused by adult prisoners. Minors held in these terrible places are abused, go hungry and are traumatized. The ray of hope is that compassionate family court judges are releasing more minors to youth homes like the Preda Foundation (preda@info.com.ph) and other NGO's.

In some cities, the minors, suspected of petty crime, never get to the jails; they are shot and killed by death squads. In Davao City alone, 76 people were killed from January to July 2009, some of them children, the US government report said.

The report released 11 March 2010 by the US Department of State on the conditions of jails in the Philippines substantiates much of what has been reported in this column in recent years. "The provincial jails and prisons are overcrowded, lacked basic infrastructure and provided the prisoners with inadequate diet resulting in a lack of potable water, poor sanitation and poor ventilation", the report stated.

Minors suffer most. Boys, some as young as 15, are sexually abused and made into girly-boys and damaged for life. They are held behind bars on remand, sometimes without court hearings. In a twelve-month period, there were at least 671 minors in prison. According to the report a mere P50 allocated for food a day. That is US .90 cents or .79 cents or about US .30 cents per meal cup of rice and a spoon of vegetable is usual.

Minors are sometimes held in overcrowded cells packed with adults. In some cells, all cannot lie down on the floor together and sleep in rotation or hang in hammocks for the bars like bats in a cave. There is no proper toilet in most cells, just a single filthy toilet bowel that the minors have to clean by hand when it gets blocked up with excrement endangering their health. The stench is unbearable in the stifling heat and a single breath will sting your nose and make you want to throw up, it's that "bad".

Jonjon, 16, is one of the many victims of police brutality and torture rescued by Preda social workers after several weeks of cruel imprisonment in the dungeon-like detention cells in Metro Manila. When rescued by court order, he was malnourished weak, frail, could hardly walk and had bruises all over his body. He had no earthly possessions other than a dirty T-shirt and shorts was helped to the rescue van and given clean clothes. Then half starved, he was brought to a restaurant and hungrily ate his first descent meal in months. He was silent the whole 3 hour trip to Preda.

Later at Preda, he told how he and other minors had their toenails crushed with a hammer forcing them to confess to the crimes alleged against them. His legs were beaten by a wooden stick. The stick had written on it "remember me" and for sure Jonjon will never forget that.

Preda Foundation works for the release of the youth prisoners and transfers hundreds of children in conflict with the law (CICL) by court orders to a "Home" where they get therapy and can recover from abuse and brutality and start a new life of dignity and get some skilled training and education. This is an open center without punishment, guards nor fences. Up to ninety percent or so stay willingly. Good people can "visit and release" children from jails by supporting the Preda jail release project.

We will be judged not by the number of times we went to church, but if we went to visit Jesus behind bars. He said in so many words "When I was in prison you, have you visited me.....when you do it to one of the poorest of all you do it to me". Do we? It's never to late to start.