REPUBLICAN COLLEGE

PHINMA EDUCATION

CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature and Studies

This chapter discussed the review of related literature and studies which are

related or bearing on the present study contains the synthesis that will present the

justification of chosen related literature and studies same as identifying similarities and

differences to the present study.

LOCAL LITERATURE

Educational Research International (SAVAP International, 2022) highlights the

importance of proper funding and annual review by Local Government Units (LGUs) in

the implementation of local intervention programs. These programs, overseen by the

Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) through the Department of the Interior and

Local Government (DILG), aim to rehabilitate Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL).

Various preventive intervention programs, such as parenting initiatives, school-based

interventions, social skills training, and media campaign, are crucial in reducing

children's exposure to violence. While some studies focus on CICL in prison settings,

comprehensive analyses of local contexts are limited Atianzar, 2019).

The Philippines has signed several international treaties pertaining to children’s

right and juvenile justice. It is a signatory of the United Nations Convention on the

Rights of the Child, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration
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of Juvenile Justice or “Beijing Rules”, the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention

of Juvenile Delinquency Nations Rule for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Liberty.

The enactment of RA 9344 was an important step forward for children’s rights in the

domestic laws of the country. In the legislation itself, the government pledges to

promote and protect the well-being of the children in conflict with the law and to observe

international standards in their treatment and detention. The regulations which

supplement the RA 9344 refer in particular to Article 40 of the Convention on the Rights

of the Child and the importance that the children be treated in such a way as to respect

the child’s sense of dignity. Reference is made to dealing with children in conflict with

the law without resorting to legal proceedings, and the need to seek alternatives to

institutional care for offenders (Sanchez, 2020).

Research on child development and delinquent behavior underscores the

multifaceted nature of these issues. Both biological and environmental factors influence

behavior, with the interplay beginning during fetal development and continuing

throughout life. While risk factors help identify children in need of preventive

interventions, they do not determine which children will become serious offenders.

Notably, most adult criminals engaged in delinquent behavior during their youth, but

most delinquent children do not become adult criminals. The cumulative impact of risk

factors heightens the likelihood of delinquent behavior. The greater the number of risk
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factors experienced by a child, the higher their risk of engaging in delinquent activities

(Coker et.al., 2023)

The causes of Philippine juvenile delinquency can be attributed to a plethora of

issues in society, with the authorities pointing to poverty as the driving factor in pushing

children to commit crimes. With a large percentage of juvenile delinquencies consisting

of theft and robbery, this assumption may not be far from the truth. However, there are

other possible causes that may also influence children into committing crimes, including:

Abuse and Trauma, Syndicate Activities, Lack of Access to Proper Education, Extensive

Access to Technology. (Business Mirror 2022).

The Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Social Welfare and

Development (DSWD), Public Attorneys Office (PAO), Philippine National Police (PNP),

and local government units are collaborating to guarantee that justice is upheld, all the

while safeguarding the rights of young offenders. During a virtual forum organized by

the Philippine Information Agency, a fiscal from the DOJ Ilocos Region, emphasized

that minors who have engaged in criminal activities are not legally accountable and

should not be incarcerated. Instead, they should participate in intervention and diversion

programs as part of a restorative justice approach (Austria, 2021).

FOREIGN LITERATURE

According to Prince Boamah Abrah (2019) Labeling theory contends that an

acquisition of a criminal status can be very problematic for offenders navigating into

adulthood. This study was to gain insight into how the negative reactions of friends,

families, and society worked to change and reinforced their offending behavior. The

theoretical implication of this finding is that labeling per se may not necessarily explain

persistence in crime considering how those who desisted from crime maneuvered their

labeling status in the face of discrimination. In formulating a desistance theory of crime

and delinquency, criminologists need to revise and evaluate traditional labeling theory

with life histories of offenders in the desistance process. This shift in paradigm will

inform the coping mechanism of more offenders, as well as the appropriate techniques

and strategies to reduce recidivism. Strengthening prison aftercare programs, provision

of institutional and social support, and the integration of residential change into post

offenders’ treatment therapy will be in the right direction for policy makers.

According to Newman, B.N. (2021) Research has consistently demonstrated that a

substantial number of individuals in the criminal justice system struggle with substance

misuse. Furthermore, rates of relapse and recidivism among this population are high.

One challenge facing this population is self-stigma, the process in which negative

stereotypes and public perceptions about an aspect of one’s identity are internalized

onto one’s sense of self. Self-stigma has been shown to have negative implications for

both individuals in the criminal justice system and individuals with substance use
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concerns, including reduced self-efficacy, self-esteem, and treatment engagement.

Thus far, however, few, if any studies have examined the intersecting effects of

criminality self- stigma and substance use self-stigma. Findings suggested that

substance use and criminality self-stigmas both individually and collectively predicted

self-esteem and treatment engagement, and substance use self-stigma and the

interaction effect predicted drug avoidance self-efficacy.

In the context of European countries, early delinquency laws were often modeled

on U.S. practices, but each country adapted these concepts to its unique history,

culture, and values. France, for example, prioritized the educational and emotional

needs of young offenders, leading to the establishment of specialized juvenile courts.

Other countries, such as Brazil, have revised their laws over time to emphasize

responsible behavior in children and adolescents, aiming to reintegrate offenders into

their communities. Understanding these diverse approaches provides valuable insights

into the global landscape of juvenile justice (Shoemaker & Jensen, 2023).

In Asian societies, juvenile justice systems blend cultural and economic traditions

with influences from former colonial powers. In the Philippines, for instance, a juvenile

court system modeled after the U.S. was established in 1955, but it was not widely

implemented due to factors like limited resources and cultural traditions. Instead, a

barangay system, rooted in reconciliation and informal mediation, has played a

significant role in handling juvenile cases. The passage of the Juvenile Justice and

Welfare Act in 2006 emphasized restorative justice and exempted juveniles under 15

from criminal liability, reflecting evolving approaches to youth offenders (Geerlings et.al.,

2020).

China's juvenile justice system incorporates traditional, communal, and familial

principles influenced by communism. While it began incorporating formal legal principles

post-World War II, the Cultural Revolution temporarily halted this process. China follows

Western standards by setting 18 as the age of criminal responsibility but assigns lower

levels of responsibility starting at age 14. Status offenses are not recognized, with

responsibility for correcting juvenile behavior resting primarily with parents and schools.

Despite its historical challenges, China continues to refine its juvenile justice system to

accommodate its vast juvenile population (Sun & Fu, 2020).

LOCAL STUDIES

Republic Act No. 9344, as amended by Republic Act No. 10630, and in light of

the considerations that were made by lawmakers. According to the aforementioned law,

juvenile offenders have the right to special protection and assistance from the state.

Furthermore, the law strengthens the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines by

establishing funding and management of Bahay Pag-Asa by the Local Government

Units for the provision of a short term residential care for children who are in conflict

with the law. As a direct result of this, the Local Government Unit (LGU) prepares a

local juvenile intervention program for children who are at risk or who are in conflict with

the law. Children who get into legal difficulty are eligible for educational and social

rehabilitation as part of the community support systems that are in place to assist them.

These mechanisms are in place to help them (CICL). This necessary step would

probably stop or prevent children from re-offending, as it would involve a series of

educational and social activities designed to address possible issues that caused the

child to commit an offense. (Gabriel L. Luna 2022)

However, a thesis study by Cunanan, A. (2019) entitled “Live Experiences

among Filipino former drug dependents. The study says that stigma can be experienced

externally and internally. Externally experienced stigma or public stigma refers to the

discrimination attributed to the negative characteristics and perceptions endorse by

society at large. In addition, stigmatized individual affect cognitive and well-being and

become compromised when they acknowledge the salience of their stigma, eventually

leading to behavioral and self-evaluative implications.

In the Coalition for Juvenile Justice Report entitled, Positive Youth Justice:

Framing Justice Interventions Using the Concepts of Positive Youth Development,

Jeffrey Butts, Gordon Bazemore, and Aundra Meroe agree. They say that positive youth

development (PYD) is an approach that recognizes the need for young people to have
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access to appropriate supports and opportunities through which they may develop the

knowledge and skills they need to become positive and productive members of society

and that “the concepts and principles of positive youth development (PYD) [articulated

in the Title II of the JJDPA] offer valuable guidance for the design of interventions for

youthful offenders.”[2] In addition, programs and program activities—particularly those

that successfully promote PYD—have been linked to improved conditions of

confinement, reduced problems in crowded facilities, improved resident and staff safety,

and increased resistance to liability. (Henriksen & Schliehe, 2020)

On the other hand, Zarm Vanessa (2022) study on how ordinary people break

the stigma of Manila’s Street children. It explores the Filipino Ordinary People in terms

of its stylistic devices, namely, surveillance footage and the long take, as well as a

thematic examination of various social issues that are underlined by the overarching

narrative arc of baby-snatching. These subthemes include the discrimination

experienced by street children, media scrutiny, sexual and verbal abuse toward female

adolescents, and the moral dilemma of the juvenile.

According to a leftist group, Karapatan, CICLs are prone to human rights

abuses. In fact, even before a court of law finds them guilty of a crime, they already end

up in juvenile facilities or, worse, detention where they suffer psychological and

emotional trauma as adult criminal offenders do while in detention. In addition, DSWD

facilities that operate primarily for CICLs do not get enough support to offer adequate
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therapy and psychosocial assistance to support Juvenile Justice in the Philippines.

According to Secretary-General of Karapatan, Cristina Palabay, “Children in conflict with

the law often end up behind bars like common criminals even inside facilities run by the

DSWD or LGUs.” In some instances, due to the lack of proper infrastructures for

children, the authorities are forced to mix CICLs with adults, with girls being held in the

same cells as women. The lack of adequate support and specialized facilities have

made rehabilitation and reintegration for CICLs more challenging, with the authorities

not being able to handle a number of CICLs due to the lack of funds and the absence of

a clear system. (Business Mirror 2022)

FOREIGN STUDIES

The author suggests that individual problems of juveniles need to be studied, as

well as their social and institutional environment. He focuses on the inner-city

environment faced by boys by discussing the behavior, attitudes, and social relations of

80 boys growing up in an impoverished area of Liverpool. He contends that the urban

environment is characterized by poverty, neglect and exploitation, and behavioral

tendencies culturally transmitted from generation to generation. Therefore, for most

boys, delinquent behavior is not so much a manifestation of individual maladjustment as

it is part of the total process of adjustment to a conflict subculture. Consideration is

given to characteristics of the inner-city neighborhood, patterns of social life and

delinquency, and the scope and effectiveness of helping agencies. The author

concludes that juvenile delinquency is merely one aspect of behavioral patterns in

underprivileged neighborhoods. Appendixes provide additional information on juvenile

delinquency and police response, along with selected case histories. (Butts &Pfatt,

2019)

The high prevalence of drug abuse, delinquency, youth violence, and other

youth problems creates a need to identify, and disseminate effective prevention

strategies. General principles gleaned from effective interventions may help prevention

practitioners select, modify, or create more effective programs. Using a review-of-

reviews approach across 4 areas (substance abuse, risky sexual behavior, school

failure, and juvenile delinquency and violence), the authors identified 9 characteristics

that were consistently associated with effective prevention programs: Programs were

comprehensive, included varied teaching methods, provided sufficient dosage, were

theory driven, provided opportunities for positive relationships, were appropriately timed,

were sociocultural relevant, included outcome evaluation, and involved well-trained

staff. This synthesis can inform the planning and implementation of problem-specific

prevention interventions, provide a rationale for multiproblem prevention programs, and

serve as a basis for further research. (Monick et.al., 2023)

According to the study of Bhattarai, (2020) the methods used to identify the best

programs, explains how program success is measured, provides an overview of

programs that work, and offers guidance on how jurisdictions can shift toward more

evidence-based practices The most successful programs are those that prevent youth

from engaging in delinquent behaviors in the first place. Greenwood specifically cites

home-visiting programs that target pregnant teens and their at-risk infants and

preschool education for at-risk children that includes home visits or work with parents.

Successful school-based programs can prevent drug use, delinquency, anti-social

behavior, and early school drop-out. Greenwood also discusses community-based

programs that can divert first-time offenders from further encounters with the justice

system. The most successful community programs emphasize family interactions and

provide skills to the adults who supervise and train the child.

According to Doleac, (2019) Juvenile curfews aim to reduce crime through

incapacitation: if we tell young people to go home earlier at night, we hope they will

have less opportunity to get into trouble. Juvenile curfews are extremely common in the

United States most large cities have them, as do many smaller cities and towns. They

typically apply to those under age 18, and the punishment for breaking curfew is usually

a fine. Despite their ubiquity, juvenile curfews are extremely controversial, mostly
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because of concerns that police disproportionately target racial minorities when

enforcing curfew laws.

J. Advanced Res. L. & Econ. 10, 401, 2019 Despite many years of experience in

the crime prevention in the juvenile environment, today the problem of committing

offences and crimes among juveniles has not been solved and is still one of the most

relevant which makes it necessary to improve preventive measures for reducing the

potential number of offenders among juveniles. The purpose of this article is to identify

the most effective and efficient measures to prevent juvenile delinquency based on

cross-country comparison and retrospective analysis. The leading approach in this

research is a comparative and legal approach to the study of the problem which allows

identifying the most effective measures. The main aspects of the positive experience of

regulating the issue of research in retrospect, as well as the mistakes that have taken

place, which should not be made in the future, are identified. The degree of regulation of

the issue at the international level is characterized. A comparative analysis of the

system of agencies and institutions for the crime prevention among juveniles in Russia,

Kazakhstan and Ukraine, as well as the regulation of the issue in Russia and foreign

countries, is conducted. Recommendations are given regarding the directions of

juvenile delinquency prevention, as well as statistical data on the countries in the

dynamics. The development of recommendations and the solution of this problem

should be carried out not only at the theoretical but also at the practical level and this

will allow to create in the future favorable conditions for the development of the younger

generation, the formation of favorable behavior and active participation in art, cultural,

sports and social activities.