The Real Thief: Tackling CICL

The acronym CICL stands for Children in Conflict with the Law.

Lawmakers in the country have been considering lowering the age (18) that defines and classifies a child. This has to do with the alarming rise in CICL cases. From 2012-2105 alone, “children alleged as, accused of, and adjudged as, having committed an offense under Philippines laws” have reached a disturbing number of 40,000!

Organizations for children at risk are lobbying for the retention of age 18. They argue that children below 18 need guidance; they still lack decision-making skills. Minors who are caught committing crimes “have the right to treatment that promotes their sense of dignity and worth, aiming at rebuilding their lives and their reintegration into society.”

Although the government runs Bahay Pag-Asa (BPA), a center for CIBL, the funding is often short to maintain decent living conditions for these children. 

"The Real Thief" (#4 book in the Happy Home series) shows how a minor is pushed into committing a crime by an unscrupulous adult who brazenly abuses the law that spares children from prosecution.

Writing this book was an uphill climb. The workers for children I interviewed warned me not to have any scene spooking kids, nor any scene making the arresting officers look like devils, nor any scene showing the police station as a war zone.

Wearing kid gloves, I inched my way into CICL—internalizing Articles 37 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989): “Placing CICL in a closed facility should be a measure of last resort, to be avoided whenever possible . . . no imposition of the death penalty and sentences of life imprisonment for offences committed by persons under the age of 18.”

Finally, when the manuscript was given the go-signal by my interviewees, which included a lawyer-advocate for children’s rights, Leo Kempis Ang, talented illustrator of the Happy Home series, was busy finishing an equally noble pursuit. I used the waiting time to polish and re-polish the text. 

Two years later, by sheer grace, here it is: "The Real Thief," specially created for our young reader’s understanding. We invite adults, who may chance upon the book, to advocate for children in whatever way possible, so that minors may not transfigure into CICL. 

(Leo and I will be at the Manila International Book Fair, SMX MOA, OMF Lit Aisle I, 1:30 to 3:00 PM today, to meet and have fun with our readers. Please join us.)