Youthful Offender Defined.
ART. 189. Youthful Offender Defined. — A youthful
offender is one who is over nine years but under twenty-one years of age
at the time of the commission of the offense.
A child nine years of age or under at the time of the offense shall
be exempt from criminal liability and shall be committed to the care of
his or her father or mother, or nearest relative or family friend in the
discretion of the court and subject to its supervision. The same shall
be done for a child over nine years and under fifteen years of age at
the time of the commission of the offense, unless he acted with
discernment, in which case he shall be proceeded against in accordance
with Article 192.
The provisions of Article 80 of the Revised
Penal Code shall be deemed modified by the provisions of this Chapter.
Physical and Mental Examination.
ART. 190. Physical and Mental Examination. — It shall be
the duty of the law-enforcement agency concerned to take the youthful1
offender, immediately after his apprehension, to the proper medical or
health officer for a thorough physical and mental examination. Whenever
treatment for any physical or mental defect is indicated, steps shall be
immediately undertaken to provide the same.
The examination and
treatment papers shall from part of the record of the case of the
youthful offender.
Care of Youthful Offender Held for Examination or Trial.
ART. 191. Care of Youthful Offender
Held for Examination or Trial. — A youthful offender held for
physical and mental examination or trial or pending appeal, if unable to
furnish bail, shall from the time of his arrest be committed to the
care of the Department of Social Welfare or the local rehabilitation
center or a detention home in the province or city which shall be
responsible for his appearance in court whenever required: Provided,
That in the absence of any such center or agency within a reasonable
distance from the venue of the trial the provincial, city and municipal
jail shall provide quarters for youthful offenders separate from other
detainees. The court may, in its discretion, upon recommendation of the
Department of Social Welfare or other agency or agencies authorized by
the Court, release a youthful offender on recognizance, to the custody
of his parents or other suitable person who shall be responsible for his
appearance whenever required.
Suspension of Sentence and Commitment of Youthful Offender.
ART. 192. Suspension of Sentence and Commitment of
Youthful Offender. — If after hearing the evidence in the proper
proceedings, the court should find that the youthful offender has
committed the acts charged against him the court shall determine the
imposable penalty, including any civil liability chargeable against him.
However, instead of pronouncing judgment of conviction, the court shall
suspend all further proceedings and shall commit such minor to the
custody or care of the Department of Social Welfare, or to any training
institution operated by the government, or duly licensed agencies or any
other responsible person, until he shall have reached twenty-one years
of age or, for a shorter period as the court may deem proper, after
considering the reports and recommendations of the Department of Social
Welfare or the agency or responsible individual under whose care he has
been committed.
The youthful offender shall be subject to visitation and
supervision by a representative of the Department of Social Welfare or
any duly licensed agency or such other officer as the Court may
designate subject to such conditions as it may prescribed.
ART.
193. Appeal. — The youthful offender whose sentence is
suspended can appeal from the order of the court in the same manner as
appeals in criminal cases.
Care and Maintenance of Youthful Offender.
ART. 194. Care and Maintenance of Youthful Offender.
— The expenses for the care and maintenance of the youthful offender
whose sentence has been suspended shall be borne by his parents or those
persons liable to support him: Provided, That in case his
parents or those persons liable to support him can not pay all or part
of said expenses, the municipality in which the offense was committed
shall pay one-third of said expenses or part thereof; the province to
which the municipality belongs shall pay one-third; and the remaining
one-third shall be borne by the National Government. Chartered cities
shall pay two-thirds of said expenses; and in case a chartered city
cannot pay said expenses, part of the internal revenue allotments
applicable to the unpaid portion shall be withheld and applied to the
settlement of said indebtedness.
All city and provincial governments must exert efforts for the
immediate establishment of local detention homes for youthful offenders.
Report on Conduct of Child.
ART. 195. Report on Conduct of Child. — The Department of
Social Welfare or its representative or duly licensed agency or
individual under whose care the youthful offender has been committed
shall submit to the court every four months or oftener as may be
required in special cases, a written report on the conduct of said
youthful offender as well as the intellectual, physical, moral, social
and emotional progress made by him.
Dismissal of the Case.
ART. 196. Dismissal of the Case. — If it is shown
to the satisfaction of the court that the youthful offender whose
sentence has been suspended, has behaved properly and has shown his
capability to be a useful member of the community, even before reaching
the age of majority, upon recommendation of the Department of Social
Welfare, it shall dismiss the case and order his final discharge.
Return of the Youth Offender to Court.
ART. 197. Return of the Youth Offender to Court. —
Whenever the youthful offender has been found incorrigible or has
willfully failed to comply with the conditions of his rehabilitation
programs, or should his continued stay in the training institution be
inadvisable, he shall be returned to the committing court for the
pronouncement of judgment.
When the youthful offender has reached the age of twenty-one
while in commitment, the court shall determine whether to dismiss the
case in accordance with the next preceding article or to pronounce the
judgment of conviction.
In any case covered by this article, the
youthful offender shall be credited in the service of his sentence with
the full time spent in actual commitment and detention effected under
the provisions of this Chapter.
Effect of Release of Child Based on Good Conduct.
ART. 198. Effect of
Release of Child Based on Good Conduct. — The final release of a
child pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter shall not obliterate
his civil liability for damages. Such release shall be without prejudice
to the right for a writ of execution for the recovery of civil damages.
Living Quarters for Youthful offenders Sentence.
ART. 199. Living Quarters for Youthful offenders
Sentence. — When a judgment of conviction is pronounced in
accordance with the provisions of Article 197, and at the time of said
pronouncement the youthful offender is still under twenty-one, he shall
be committed to the proper penal institution to serve the remaining
period of his sentence: Provided, That penal institutions shall
provide youthful offenders with separate quarters and, as far as
practicable, group them according to appropriate age levels or other
criteria as will insure their speedy rehabilitation: Provided,
further, That the Bureau of Prisons shall maintain agricultural and
forestry camps youthful offenders may serve their sentence in lieu of
confinement in regular penitentiaries.
Records of Proceedings.
ART. 200. Records of Proceedings. — Where a
youthful offender has been charged before any city or provincial fiscal
or before any municipal judge and the charge have been ordered dropped,
all the records of the case shall be destroyed immediately thereafter.
Where a youthful offender has been charged and the court acquits
him, or dismisses the case or commits him to an institution and
subsequently releases him pursuant to this Chapter, all the records of
his cases shall be destroyed immediately after such acquittal, dismissal
or release, unless civil liability has also been imposed in the
criminal action, in which case such records shall be destroyed after
satisfaction of such civil liability. The youthful offender concerned
shall not be held under any provision of law, to be guilty of perjury or
of concealment or misrepresentation by reason of his failure to
acknowledge the case or recite any fact related thereto in response to
any inquiry made of him for any purpose.
"Records" within the
meaning of this article shall include those which may be in the files of
the National Bureau of Investigation and with any police department, or
any other government agency which may have been involved in the case.
Civil Liability of Youthful Offenders.
ART. 201. Civil Liability of Youthful Offenders. — The
civil liability for acts committed by a youthful offender shall devolve
upon the offender's father and, in case of his death or incapacity,
upon the mother, or in case of her death or incapacity, upon the
guardian. Civil liability may also be voluntarily assumed by a relative
or family friend of the youthful offender.
Rehabilitation Centers.
ART. 202. Rehabilitation
Centers. — The Department of Social Welfare shall establish
regional rehabilitation centers for youthful offenders. The local
government and other non-governmental entities shall collaborate and
contribute their support for the establishment and maintenance of these
facilities.
Detention Homes.
ART. 203. Detention Homes. — The Department of
Local Government and Community Development shall establish detention
homes in cities and provinces distinct and separate from jails pending
the disposition of cases of juvenile offenders.
ART. 204. Liability of Parents or Guardian or Any
Person in the Commission of Delinquent Acts by Their Children or Wards.
— A person whether the parent or guardian of the child or not, who,
knowingly or willfully,
Aids, causes, abets or connives with the commission by a child of
a delinquency, or
Does any act producing, promoting, or contributing to a child's
being or becoming a juvenile delinquent, shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding five hundred pesos or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding two years, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the
discretion of the court.
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
