Thousands of Filipino children in jail draws US Congress Attention
 

By: Edward Logan, FIL-AM PRESS and Houston Star

WASHINGTON, DC --  Sept 14, 2005-- Last month, CNN had come out with a special report that about 20,000 minors are in the Philippine prison with hardened adult criminals, with some detained for merely sleeping on streets draws the attention of the US Congress. The issue over the plight of many street children was the topic on the US Congress hearing headed by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations that exposes the growing plague of “street children” in Brazil, the Philippines, Uganda and Zimbabwe held September 13, 2005, at the Rayburn House Office Building.  

The panelists who participated the hearing were David Denehy, Director of Strategic Planning and External Affairs, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, of the U.S. Department of State, Lloyd Feinberg, Manager, Displaced Children and Orphans Fund, of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Lord David Alton, House of Lords, United Kingdom of Great Britain and co-founder of Jubilee Campaign, Father Shay Cullen, Founder of Preda Foundation, Philippines, Ms. Teresa Santos, Network Coordinator of  Rede Viva-RJ, Brazil, and Andy Sexton, International Coordinator of Children at Risk OASIS International.

Rep Smith said during his opening statement: “These children – tragically found in almost every country in the world – number into the hundred millions, live in abject poverty and are particularly vulnerable to abuse.  Some children are murdered by vigilantes, used by criminal gangs or become child soldiers.  Others are trafficked and exploited sexually and for forced labor.  Those left are often incarcerated in adult prisons, where they are
victimized even further”.   

The Republican congressmen and a champion for human rights also stressed that: “I hope that this hearing will reenergize our efforts to expand the remedies that are already working into additional countries and begin a process of cooperation to develop improved measures to ensure that the number of street children around the world is sharply reduced”. 

In his testimony, Lord David Alton –co-founder of the international human rights organization Jubilee Campaign (JC), and  a former member of the United Kingdom’s House of Commons – said that “Street Children are not a recent phenomenon.  Whenever three has been a major social, political or economic crisis the existence of Street Children has been prevalent.” Lord Alton also described the shocking evidence of police deaths quads routinely shooting children on the streets to clear them off the streets during his trip in Brazil last February of 2004.

Father Cullen emphasized before the US Congress that: “The United States government should not give any more foreign aid funds until the rights of children are protected in this country.  According to Father Cullen, “Philippine government officials had refused to help us and give a home for children they rescued from the jails”  Father Cullen referred to the place in Olongapo City that was most likely built using US disaster relief money for the victims of the Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption in 1991, although it was never used for that purpose.

The Irish missionary priest, who heads PREDA (People’s Recovery Empowerment Development Assistance Foundation, Inc.), also added that “I appreciate the United States Congress is making this initiated inquiries into the suffering of children behind bars while the Philippine Congress took ten years to ratified a bill addressing the plight of juvenile
offenders and their conditions in jail which is now long overdue.

Lloyd Feinberg, manager pointed during his testimony that programs already underway to prevent and protect vulnerable children.  Feinberg testified that the US government will provide $14 million to 19 countries, including 15 that have specific programs to identify and rescue street children.  

Meanwhile, Philippine President Arroyo presented her country’s report on the plight of thousands of Filipino children in jail when she addressed the United Nations during the world summit. Arroyo also stressed that her administration will work closely with the Philippine Senate to swiftly enact a proposed Senate Bill 1402 also known as Juvenile Justice Bill aiming to separate youth and adult offenders and reinforce respect for the child’s sense of dignity and worth which filed by the Senate majority leader, Francis Pangilinan, as part of a comprehensive juvenile justice system program.
 

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