SC urged protection of children from abuses

Jun Ariolo N. Aguirre

Boracay Island- Acknowledging that this resort island is prone to sex tourism because of diverse kind of tourists that regularly tourists here, the Supreme Court hopes that the provincial government could protect the children especially that the latter is bound to fully implement its 'One Entry-One Exit' scheme here.

SC Assistant Court Administrator Judge Nimfa Vilches came here recently to introduce to local police enforcers, lawyers, social welfare officers and advocates the Implementation of Rules and Regulations on Juvenile Justice System where she herself assists in the crafting of the new law.

"Among other things, the new law barred children ages 18 and below from being charged of criminal liabilities especially on status qou cases such as vagrancy, curfew and even prostitution," she said.

In an interview, Judge Vilches said that she is traveling around the country for some time now to discuss the implementation of the law among concerned government agencies and officials because she believe there is still loopholes that needed to be fix before it could be fully implemented.

"Among the loopholes learned is that the Juvenile Justice Council in Manila needs to recommend to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to ask the PNP and the DSWD to have a better coordination on cases dealing with children," she said which she is also a member of the council.

Vilches said that the decision of the provincial government to fully implement the 'One Entry-One Exit scheme in Boracay comes February 15 is a good one but expresses concern if the task force created by the provincial government were trained to secure the children from abuses.

"We in the SC had already trained policemen based in Metro Manila to secure airports and only few in Seaports to watch children prone of abuses. It is only in this year that we are planning to undertake trainings for land-based security measures and that includes Boracay concerns," she said in an interview.

In the previous years, the DSWD have noted presence of minors which are engaged in prostitution and had actually documented cases of child traficking.

Vilches however warned that the law is heavy against those hot-headed pedophiles if a minor engaged in prostitution complained against them.