REPUBLIC ACT No.

9344

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A COMPREHENSIVE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM,

TITLE I
GOVERNING PRINCIPLES

CHAPTER 1
TITLE, POLICY AND DEFINITION OF TERMS
Section 1. Short Title and Scope. -

SEC. 2. Declaration of State Policy. -

SEC. 3. Liberal Construction of this Act. -

SEC. 4. Definition of Terms. - The following terms as used in this Act shall be defined as follows:

(n) "Law Enforcement Officer" refers to the person in authority or his/her agent as defined in Article 152 of the
Revised Penal Code, including a barangay tanod.

(0) "Offense" refers to any act or omission whether punishable under special laws or the Revised Penal Code, as
amended.

CHAPTER 2
PRINCIPLES IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE

SEC. 5. Rights of the Child in Conflict with the Law. - .

SEC. 6. Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility. -

SEC. 7. Determination ofAge. -

TITLE II
STRUCTURES IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE

SEC. 8. Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC). -

SEC. 9. Duties and Functions of the JJWC. -

SEC. 10. Policies and Procedures on Juvenile Justice and Welfare.

SEC. 11. Child Rights Center (CRC).

TITLE III
PREVENTION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

CHAPTER 1
THE ROLE OF THE DIFFERENT SECTORS

SEC. 12. The Family. -

SEC. 13. The Educational System. -

SEC. 14. The Role of the Mass Media. -

SEC. 15. Establishment and Strengthening of Local Councils for the Protection of Children. -

SEC. 16. Appointment of Local Social Welfare and Development Officer. - All LGUs shall appoint a duly licensed
social worker as its local social welfare and development officer tasked to assist children in conflict with the law.

SEC. 17. The Sangguniang Kabataan. -

CHAPTER 2
COMPREHENSIVE JUVENILE INTERVENTION PROGRAM

SEC. 18. Development of a Comprehensive Juvenile Intervention Program. -

SEC. 19. Community-based Programs on Juvenile Justice and Welfare.

TITLE IV
TREATMENT OF CHILDREN BELOW THE AGE OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY
SEC. 20. Children Below the Age of Criminal Responsibility. - If it has been determined that the child taken into
custody is fifteen (15) years old or below, the authority which will have an initial contact with the child has the duty to
immediately release the child to the custody of his/her parents or guardian, or in the absence thereof, the child's nearest
relative. Said authority shall give notice to the local social welfare and development officer who will determine the
appropriate programs in consultation with the child and to the person having custody over the child. If the parents,
guardians or nearest relatives cannot be located, or if they refuse to take custody, the child may be released to any of
the following: a duly registered nongovernmental or religious organization; a barangay official or a member of the
Barangay Council for the Protection of Children (BCPC); a local social welfare and development officer; or when and
where appropriate, the DSWD. If the child referred to herein has been found by the Local Social Welfare and
Development Office to be abandoned, neglected or abused by his parents, or in the event that the parents will not
comply with the prevention program, the proper petition for involuntary commitment shall be filed by the DSWD or the
Local Social Welfare and Development Office pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise ,known as "The Child
and Youth Welfare Code".

TITLE V
JUVENILE JUSTICE AND WELFARE SYSTEM

CHAPTER I
INITIAL CONTACT WITH THE CHILD

SEC. 21. Procedure for Taking the Child into Custody. - From the moment a child is taken into custody, the law
enforcement officer shall:

(a) Explain to the child in simple language and in a dialect that he/she can understand why he/she is being
placed under custody and the offense that he/she allegedly committed;

(b) Inform the child of the reason for such custody and advise the child of his/her constitutional rights in a
language or dialect understood by him/her;

(e) Properly identify himself/herself and present proper identification to the child;

(d) Refrain from using vulgar or profane words and from sexually harassing or abusing, or making sexual
advances on the child in conflict with the law;

(e) Avoid displaying or using any firearm, weapon, handcuffs or other instruments of force or restraint, unless
absolutely necessary and only after all other methods of control have been exhausted and have failed;

(f) Refrain from subjecting the child in conflict with the law to greater restraint than is necessary for his/her
apprehension;

(g) Avoid violence or unnecessary force;

(h) Determine the age of the child pursuant to Section 7 of this Act;

(i) Immediately but not later than eight (8) hours after apprehension, turn over custody of the child to the Social
Welfare and Development Office or other accredited NGOs, and notify the child's apprehension. The social
welfare and development officer shall explain to the child and the child's parents/guardians the consequences of
the child's act with a view towards counseling and rehabilitation, diversion from the criminal justice system, and
reparation, if appropriate;

(j) Take the child immediately to the proper medical and health officer for a thorough physical and mental
examination. The examination results shall be kept confidential unless otherwise ordered by the Family Court.
Whenever the medical treatment is required, steps shall be immediately undertaken to provide the same;

(k) Ensure that should detention of the child in conflict with the law be necessary, the child shall be secured in
quarters separate from that of the opposite sex and adult offenders;

(l) Record the following in the initial investigation:

1. Whether handcuffs or other instruments of restraint were used, and if so, the reason for such;

2. That the parents or guardian of a child, the DSWD, and the PA0 have been informed of the
apprehension and the details thereof; and

3. The exhaustion of measures to determine the age of a child and the precise details of the physical and
medical examination or the failure to submit a child to such examination; and
 (m) Ensure that all statements signed by the child during investigation shall be witnessed by the child's parents
or guardian, social worker, or legal counsel in attendance who shall affix his/her signature to the said statement.

A child in conflict with the law shall only be searched by a law enforcement officer of the same gender and shall not be
locked up in a detention cell.

SEC. 22. Duties During Initial Investigation. -

CHAPTER 2
DIVERSION

SEC. 23. System of Diversion. -

SEC. 24. Stages Where Diversion May be Conducted. -

SEC. 25. Conferencing, Mediation and Conciliation. -

SEC. 26. Contract of Diversion. -.

SEC. 27. Duty of the Punong Barangay When There is No Diversion. - be filed according to the regular process.

SEC. 28. Duty of the Law Enforcement Officer When There is No Diversion. -

SEC. 29. Factors in Determining Diversion Program. -

SEC. 30. Formulation of the Diversion Program. -

SEC. 31. Kinds of Diversion Programs. -

CHAPTER 3
PROSECUTION

SEC. 32. Duty of the Prosecutor's Office. -

SEC. 33. Preliminary Investigation and Filing of Information. -

CHAPTER 4
COURT PROCEEDINGS

SEC. 34. Bail. -

SEC. 35. Release on Recognizance. -

SEC. 36. Detention of the Child Pending Trial. -

SEC. 37. Diversion Measures. -

SEC. 38. Automatic Suspension of Sentence. -

SEC. 39. Discharge of the Child in Conflict with the Law.

SEC. 40. Return of the Child in Conflict with the Law to Court.

SEC. 41. Credit in Service of Sentence. -

SEC. 42. Probation as an Alternative to Imprisonment. -

CHAPTER 5
CONFIDENTIALITY OF RECORDS AND PROCEEDINGS

SEC. 43. Confidentiality of Records and Proceedings.

TITLE VI
REHABILITATION AND REINTEGRATION
SEC. 44. Objective of Rehabilitation and Reintegration. -.

SEC. 45. Court Order Required. -

SEC. 46, Separate Facilities from Adults. -.

SEC. 47. Female Children. -

SEC. 48. Gender-Sensitivity Training. -.

SEC. 49. Establishment of Youth Detention Homes. -

SEC. 50. Care and Maintenance of the Child in Conflict with the Law. -

SEC. 51. Confinement of Convicted Children in Agricultural Camps and other Training Facilities. -

SEC. 52. Rehabilitation of Children in Conflict with the Law. -

SEC. 53. Youth Rehabilitation Center.

SEC. 54. Objectives of Community Based Programs. -

SEC. 55. Criteria of Community-Based Programs. -

SEC. 56. After-Care Support Services for Children in Conflict with the Law.

TITLE VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER 1
EXEMPTING PROVISIONS

SEC. 57. Status Offenees. - Any conduct not considered an offense or not penalized if committed
by an adult shall not be considered an offense and shall not be punished if committed by a child.

SEC. 58. Offenses Not Applicable to Children. -

SEC. 59. Exemption from the Application of Death Penalty.

CHAPTER 2
PROHIBITED ACTS

SEC. 60. Prohibition Against Labeling and Shaming. -

SEC. 61. Other Prohibited Acts. -

CHAPTER 3
PENAL PROVISION

SEC. 62. Violation of the Provisions of this Act or Rules or Regulations in General. - Any person
who violates any provision of this Act or any rule or regulation promulgated in accordance thereof
shall, upon conviction for each act or omission, be punished by a fine of not less than Twenty
thousand pesos (P20,000.00) but not more than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) or suffer
imprisonment of not less than eight (8) years but not more than ten (10) years, or both such fine
and imprisonment at the discretion of the court, unless a higher penalty is provided for in the
Revised Penal Code or special laws. If the offender is a public officer or employee, he/she shall, in
addition to such fine and/or imprisonment, be held administratively liable and shall suffer the
penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification.

CHAPTER 4
APPROPRIATION PROVISION

SEC. 63. Appropriations. -

SEC. 64. Children in Conflict with the Law Fifteen (15) Years Old and Below. -

SEC. 65. Children Detained Pending Dial. .

SEC. 66. Inventory of "Locked-up" and Detained Children in Conflict with the Law. -

SEC. 67. Children Who Reach the Age of Eighteen (18) Years Pending Diversion and Court Proceedings. -

SEC. 68. Children Who Have Been Convicted and are Serving Sentence. -

TITLE IX
FINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 69. Rule Making Power. -

SEC. 70. Separability Clause. -

SEC. 71. Repealing Clause. - All existing laws, orders, decrees, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with
the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 72. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its publication in at least two (2) national
newspapers of general circulation.

Are children criminalised if they violate curfews? (1B)NO

Article 139 of The Child and Youth Welfare Code (Presidential Decree No. 603) states:

Curfew Hours for Children. - City or municipal councils may prescribe such curfew hours for children as
may be warranted by local conditions. Parents or guardians and the local authorities have a duty to enforce
curfew ordinances. Any parent or guardian found grossly negligent in the performance of the duty imposed
by this article shall be admonished by the Department of Social Welfare and Development or the Council
for the Protection of Children.[1]

Section 4(r) of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act says that status offences refers to offences that
discriminate only against a child, including curfew violations by children. Under section 57 of the Juvenile
Justice and Welfare Act, status offences shall not be considered an offence and shall not be punished if
committed by a child. This means that children are not to be punished for curfew violations.

Examples of curfews:

Both a daytime and a night time curfew applies to children who want to visit internet cafes. Children are
required to present identification cards and their class schedule to be granted entry.[2]

In 2016, “[c]urfew ordinances in Manila were implemented by city police units under the so-called "Oplan
Rody" (Rid the Streets of Drunkards and Youths) that led to roundups of minors who remained outside
their homes during curfew hours, along with adults caught drinking liquor or going shirtless in public.”
The High Court in the Philippines judged that the curfew ordinances were contrary to the Juvenile Justice
and Welfare Act (as they included sanctions to be imposed on children).[3]