An Assessment of the Implementation of Republic Act No. 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act in Luzon

ABSTRACT

Purpose

This study aims to determine whether Republic Act 9344 is being fully implemented by local government units in Luzon, so as to find out whether proper implementation of the law will already address the problems currently being attributed to it.

Problem

This law has been under a lot of scrutiny from both lawmakers and the public ever since it was enacted in 2006, with some saying that the lowering of the age of criminal responsibility and the exemption of children aged 15 years old and below from criminal responsibility have contributed to an increase in the number of crimes committed by children. These observations have led lawmakers to propose amendments to the law, including proposals to raise the age of criminal responsibility, or to repeal it altogether.

Findings

The results of this study showed that RA 9344 is not being fully implemented in local government units in Luzon. Most of its provisions that require action from the local chief executive (LCE), the Local Social Welfare and Development Officer (LSWDO), and the barangays are not being complied with by all the respondents in the study, as shown by the low percentage of compliance in each area of the survey.

Conclusions

The respondents listed reasons for their inability to fully implement the law, among which are: financial constraints, lack of personnel, lack of knowledge, and lack of training on RA 9344, particularly at the barangay level.