Voice for children in RP court

Voice for children in RP court

By Melanie P. Ramos

MANILA: One of the perennial problems of the Philippine
justice system is the slow disposition of cases of children who
run in conflict with the law. This is partly due to the lack of
social workers to assist children in court. Without the support
of social workers in the preparation of reports and the
monitoring of cases, judges are not able to make informed and
just decisions on cases involving child offenders.

The available social workers are not enough to assist the
growing number of children in our jails and detention centers. In
the Manila Youth Reception Center (MYRC), for instance, only five
social workers assist close to 200 youth offenders whose cases
are being tried in court. Each child may have several cases, each
of which requires the same amount of attention from the social
workers. These social workers, though very much committed to
their jobs, can only do so much. They urgently need help in
facilitating the needs of children, especially in court-related
proceedings.

The courts have not been deaf to the outcry of social workers
and child rights advocates over the slow disposition of the cases
of children who violate the law. A special project has been
launched involving ordinary people from the community who care
about children and who wish to assist children who are accused of
crimes. They have been tapped to assist the court in the speedy
disposition of the children's cases in order to uplift the
disheartening condition of children in the jails and detention
centers. Thus, the CASA/GAL project was launched early this year.

CASA/GAL stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate/ Guardian
Ad Litem. CASA/GALs are volunteers from the community who are
assigned to a case by a judge. Each volunteer works on one case,
helping one child at a time.

As volunteers assisting youth offenders in court, CASA/GALs
are required to conduct investigations on the background of the
children's cases. They are tasked with reviewing pertinent
documents and interviewing everyone who knows about the case,
including the child.

CASA/GAL volunteers determine how the needs of children can be
met and what resources are available to help them. If a child
needs to be referred to a child-caring institution/agency for
rehabilitation or treatment, the volunteers make the necessary
arrangements.

CASA/GALs plead the cases of the children even during
mediation. Bearing in mind the best interest of the child, the
volunteers are required to submit reports to the court to enable
the judge to make an informed decision.

Monitoring the case of the child is also an important
responsibility of a CASA/GAL volunteer. If the court orders that
a child and/or the child's family be provided counseling or any
form of intervention, the volunteer sees to that this order is
carried out.

What does it take to be a CASA/GAL volunteer? The CASA/GAL's
role is to represent the best interest of the child. A volunteer
therefore must be child sensitive and must be ready to commit to
helping the child. This commitment may mean assisting the child
for at least a period of one year.

CASA/GALs must possess good communication skills to
effectively relate with social workers, lawyers, school officials
or with angry parents/complainants. They must be objective in
their assessments and must be self-confident especially when
speaking in the courtroom on behalf of the child's best interest.

Though no legal experience is required to be a CASA/GAL,
volunteers are required to undergo special training to help them
perform their responsibilities effectively. During the training,
recruits are oriented with regard to laws affecting youth
offenders, the judicial process, child development, child abuse
and neglect, and interviewing techniques.

The first CASA/GAL trainers' training seminar was sponsored by
Unicef and the Ateneo Human Rights Center on April 23-26, 2001 in
Makati. Forty participants from various non government and
government organizations attended the training. The seminar aimed
to equip the participants with knowledge and skills to become
effective CASA/GAL trainers. A follow-up training session will be
conducted in July, this time to train volunteers in the
communities.

A CASA/GAL volunteer is a powerful voice for a child in court.
It is hoped that with the training of more CASA/GALs in the
communities, children languishing in the jails can expect a
speedier disposition of their cases and get the assurance of
support from the community.

-- Philippine Daily Inquirer/Asia News Network