Senator Kiko Pangilinan underscored the need for additional resources to build more Bahay Pag-asa Youth Centers, a transformational facility for children in conflict with the law, and fully implement the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act.
Speaking during the “Bantay Bata – The Filipino Child: National Dialogue on Child Protection”, Pangilinan said that the Senate has added P200 million to the budget of the Juvenile Justice Welfare Council under the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the 2026 fiscal year.
This brings the Council’s total additional funding to P275 million, which will establish five regional Bahay Pag-asa centers with a capacity of around 50 to 150 beds.
The veteran legislator, who authored the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act and now chairs the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, said the new centers will be able to house around 500 children a year, depending on the intervention programs they are enrolled in.
“Suportahan, bigyan ng sapat na budget.”
“Dapat talaga full implementation, suportahan, bigyan ng sapat na budget,” the seasoned lawmaker said, noting the current challenges of implementing the law, such as the lack of facilities and social workers.
“Ang dapat tamang direksyon. Hindi amyendahan ang batas, kundi pondohan ang batas at ma-implementa ng tama hanggang sa municipal level.”
“So, ‘yun (add resources) ang dapat tamang direksyon. Hindi amyendahan ang batas, kundi pondohan ang batas at ma-implementa ng tama hanggang sa municipal level. So, ang problema and we recognize this, is the implementation rather than the law itself but its implementation which we need to provide resources,” the senator stressed.
The additional funding will help not only in establishing the transformational facilities needed by children in conflict with the law, but also in training additional social workers to help fully implement the law’s programs.
Pangilinan explained that under the law, the government—through the DSWD—is mandated to provide counseling to the children.
