One of 2 ‘agri-camps’ for youth offenders being built in Palawan
Work has finally started on one of two farm camps in Pampanga and Palawan meant for minors accused or convicted of criminal offenses, 18 years after the passage of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
Lawyer Tricia Oco, executive director of Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council, said on Thursday that budget constraints had delayed the construction of these agricultural camps (“agri-camps”).
But the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) allotted P90 million in 2024 and another P110 million in 2025 for the projects, with work already ongoing on the Palawan site.
Plans for the country’s first agri-camp for chilidren in conflict with the law (CICL) were finalized only on May 6, covering a 5,000-square-meter lot at the Pampanga State Agricultural University in Magalang, Pampanga.
The one at Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, is much larger, covering 150 hectares of farm land.
“Children who [are] 18 to 21 years old whose cases were not dismissed for not undergoing rehabilitation [may] serve their sentences based on the [court’s] judgment,” Oco said in a press briefing.
“Instead of Bilibid, they should be placed at an agri-camp. But right now, we have none yet. Those who need to serve their sentence are at Bilibid,” she said, referring to the overpopulated national penitentiary, where hardened criminals are detained.
Under Sec. 51 of the Republic Act No. 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, minors convicted of crimes may be made to serve their sentences in an agricultural camp or other training facilities maintained and supervised by the Bureau of Corrections, in coordination with the DSWD.
Preparatory stage
The Pampanga agri-camp, which Oco said was still in the “preparatory stage,” would have dedicated areas for vegetable, orchard and animal production; verma-composting area; modern greenhouse system; irrigation system; barnyard; ornamental garden and learning center.
It would allow “vocational training and hands-on work experience” on sustainable agricultural practices, and hopefully help them to be “properly rehabilitated, and then reintegrated into society after.”
The Palawan agri-camp, on the other hand, is also conducive to agricultural and ecotourism activities for the rehab and reintegration of CICLs serving their sentences. Construction of this campsite has already commenced, Oco said.
