Social Sciences Division, University of the Philippines, Cebu College

This 23-page paper describes a community-based programme for children in conflict with the law in Cebu City in the Philippines. Built on mediation and restorative justice approaches, it is designed to provide an alternative to what author Felisa U. Etemadi characterises as the harsh, dehumanising criminal justice system through which most child offenders in the Philippines have routinely been processed (e.g., often placed in the same cells as hardened adult criminals, with formal education and sports activities disrupted and long waits for arraignment and court trials). Piloted by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Free Rehabilitation, Economic, Education and Legal Assistance Volunteers' Association (FREELAVA) in 12 Cebu City barangays, this community-based programme builds on local governance structures and involves collaboration among barangay officials, professionals and community volunteers, including past child offenders who serve as peer educators. The goal is to prevent child offenders from entering the criminal justice system ("diversion") by putting into practice two basic principles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child: "the best interests of the child" and "detention or imprisonment...as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time."

This paper explains the diversion process in detail, draws on the experiences of individual children, and outlines both the strengths of the programme and the areas that need more attention. Data for the process evaluation were gathered from: primary and secondary documents, case studies of diverted children, police department records, informal discussions with programme implementers in 10 pilot barangays, interviews with 3 project staff and 2 teachers who are members of a Children Justice Committee (CJC), and focus group discussions with members of the CJCs, community volunteers, and peer educators.

Specifically, this initiative is built on the principle of restorative justice, which holds that crime is a violation of people and relationships and creates obligations to make things right - a framework that is in stark contrast to the retributive justice approach, which views crime as an act against the state that must be punished. Drawing on this framework, and with its track record in community development work, FREELAVA has used community organising as the over-arching strategy in implementing the diversion programme. Core strategies have included mobilising the support and participation of the communities through:

• The formation and capacity building of 12-member Children Justice Committees (CJCs) which work for the settlement, reconciliation and mediation of reported cases involving child offenders and recommend appropriate psychosocial interventions and other necessary assistance to diverted children.
• The training and involvement of community volunteers - each pilot barangay has a pool of 10 community volunteers who become child rights advocates in their respective localities; they undergo training on the basics on paralegal work and community organising, diversion and restorative justice, gender and child sensitivity, the psychodynamics of children in conflict with the law, mediation and reconciliation, psychosocial interventions and counseling.
• The participation of peer educators - 15-18-year-old diverted or released child offenders who are exposed to leadership training, facilitating skills training, anger management, basic counseling and team building.
• Community outreach and education, such as through pulong pulong, an effort to: mobilise parents, residents and local leaders; to inform children in attendance of their rights; and to raise awareness of the plight of child offenders. Community volunteers make house-to-house visits to inform residents a week before this informal discussion event...
• Policy advocacy and networking with national government agencies and civil society groups to hasten programme institutionalisation in the barangays.

This evaluation next details the process of the community-based diversion programme, which involves:

1. An intervention upon apprehension
2. An interview and case intake
3. Mediation proper - "Counseling by CJC members facilitates a reflective process during which the children eventually feel remorseful, admit the offense and agree to undertake reparative actions"
4. Settlement of agreement and implementation of diversion programme, which "may take the form of written apology, the rendering of community service, restoration of damaged property or reparation of property....Children participate in the formulation of the agreement. The parents also participate by agreeing that they will attend to the needs of the erring child....The diverted child is then asked to report regularly to the barangay for monitoring and compliance with the terms of agreement."
5. Rehabilitation and reintegration - "Such measures as peer education and counseling, values formation through religious education and attending worship services, and the FREELAVA's Back-to-School or formal educational assistance are undertaken to encourage the child to act in accordance with community norms and standards. CJC members and community volunteers promote such activities as barangay cleanliness and sportsfests to hasten the reintegration process and facilitate the acceptance of the child by the community without stigma and labeling..."

According to the author, this community-based diversion pilot programme has led to several positive changes, which are described here; among them: a decline in the number of child arrests and decreasing incarceration rates and abandonment of detention cells for children in all the pilot barangays. "Part of what makes the program so distinctive is the active community participation....The volunteerism of private citizens, community volunteers and peer educators showcases what the community can really do to promote the rights of children in conflict with the law, while at the same time restoring social harmony. FREELAVA is confident that when the CJCs strengthen their case management and monitoring, they can sustain diversion work on their own."

While diversion works positively for many children - and several narratives are shared in this paper - it appears to have little effect for those who have had several encounters with the law. Several other ongoing challenges are shared, such as "Public acceptance of the paradigm shift in juvenile justice does not necessarily mean the application of the principles of restorative justice in actual cases. Advocacy must be intensified to convince the public that...diversion and reintegration are worthy governance issues..."