Quezon city: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is strengthening its rehabilitation and restorative justice interventions for children in conflict with the law (CICL) following recent reports of severe crimes committed by minors.

According to Philippines News Agency, these interventions are implemented through the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth (RRCY), which caters to minors whose sentences are suspended by trial courts. The RRCY is part of the larger Center and Residential Care Facilities (CRCFs) network, which currently operates 77 centers nationwide.

"Yung mga (The) CICL clients, since this is ordered by the court and because it is under the law, ito na yung mga suspended sentence kasi hindi naman po natin pine-penalized yung mga minors na ito (these are the suspended sentences because these minors are not penalized),' Director Kaye Sacapa±o of the DSWD's Center Development Office (CDO) said during a media forum at the DSWD Central Office in Quezon City on Thursday. 'So instead of penalizing them, bibigyan natin sila ng (we provide them) rehabilitation, so restorative justice or restorative approach."

Sacapa±o explained that a specialized team composed of social workers, psychologists, and psychometricians handles these cases by conducting individual assessments and counseling sessions. She emphasized that the legal system recognizes that children at their specific ages commit these acts without knowing right from wrong.

Through continuous guidance and psychosocial support, social workers lecture the minors to understand that their harmful actions are unacceptable in society, the CDO Director said. Aside from youth offenders, the CRCFs cater to various sectors, including senior citizens, abandoned children, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable women.

The DSWD provides comprehensive interventions in its facilities, including education, psychosocial interventions, home-life skills, household chores, and skills training. "Yung mga centers po natin, temporary shelters lang po ito, as much as possible gusto natin silang irehabilitate para pag na reintegrate sa society or ibigay po natin ito sa kanilang mga anak or magulang, ready na po sila (These are just temporary shelters and as much as possible, we want to rehabilitate them so that once they are reintegrated into society or returned to their families, they are ready)," Sacapa±o told reporters.

She also pointed out the urgent need to build more residential facilities nationwide to adequately accommodate the growing population of abandoned individuals, particularly senior citizens, and to ensure that no vulnerable client is turned away due to a lack of space. "So, we want to expand, especially may mga growing population tayo na tumatanda na. And given na hindi rin naman po ganon kadami yung facilities (there is a growing population of elderly. And given that there aren't that many facilities), so, we want to expand it further," Sacapa±o said.

She added that many centers are not yet supported by specific laws, unlike the RRCY, prompting the DSWD's CDO to push for the institutionalization and expansion of these facilities to accommodate the increasing volume of clients. "Ang long term goal po namin (Our long-term goal) is to provide safe and good facilities to our residents and clienteles,' she said.

'Hindi lang naman po tumitigil dito yung pagtulong natin sa mga clients and residents natin, gusto rin natin silang tulungan ma-reintegrate at ma-rehabilitate kasi in the long run, ire-recall din nila ito: 'saan ako nanggaling? Tinutulungan po ako ng DSWD para maging successful po ako sa buhay (Our assistance to clients and residents does not end here, we also want to help them in reintegrating and rehabilitating. Because in the long run, they will recall: where did I come from? The DSWD helped me to become successful in life),'" she added.

In 2025, the DSWD served 1,940 clients across its various residential and center-based facilities. By December 2025, the number of active residents dropped to 1,071, as a large number of clients had been successfully reintegrated into their respective communities.