Youthful offenders given second chance - Molave Youth Home

By DJ Yap
Inquirer - January 29, 2006

YOUNGSTERS in trouble with the law do not often get another chance but at the Molave Youth Home, they
get a second, even a third chance.

Molave is a special detention center in Quezon City for minors.

When 16-year-old Chester entered the youth center in 1997 on robbery charges, he thought his life was
over. Months later, he realized it was actually just beginning.

All he needed was a little guidance and attention—something he found in abundance at Molave.

Like the sturdy tree it was named after, the jail facility enabled Chester to turn his life around. When he was
released on recognizance after four months, he spent the next year studying computer technology and
doing odd jobs on the side.

Today, he works as a computer technician for an Internet company. He is also happily married, with two
children.

Chester, however, has not forgotten those who had set him on the right path. Every now and then, he visits
Molave, but this time as a volunteer—to tell the inmates that they, too, can turn their lives around.

Shelter for youthful offenders

Established in 1973, Molave is a facility that provides temporary custody and care to offenders aged
between 9 and 17, while they undergo trial for crimes ranging from petty theft to murder.

Last year, the facility was named one of the 10 recipients of the Gawad Galing Pook awards for its
pioneering work in the rehabilitation of youth offenders, as well as their reintegration to society.

Though technically a jail secured by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Molave is recognized by
the Quezon City government more as a social service institution than a criminal detention facility.

For this reason, Molave is under the administration of the city’s Social Services Development Department
(SSDD).

Inmates not prisoners

“At Molave, we don’t want the inmates to feel that they are prisoners, but children on their way to
rehabilitation,” Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said.

At present, Molave houses 163 youth offenders, of whom 10 are girls, according to Maribel Cayco, the city’s
chief of residential and rehabilitation division.

Most of the inmates belong to low-income and broken families.

Crimes against property, such as theft and robbery, top the list of their offenses.

Located at the second floor of the SSDD building just behind City Hall, the youth home has six dormitories
with double-deck beds, a mess hall and kitchen, and a newly-constructed sunning facility with a basketball
court, among other amenities.

The youngsters start each day early, waking up at 5 a.m. followed by breakfast.

Then at 7 a.m., under the supervision of the social workers, they conduct a therapeutic session to talk
about each other’s good and bad deeds the day before.

“This is the therapeutic community modality, a self-help discussion activity with a positive approach to a
child’s actions,” Cayco said.

After the hour-long session, the youngsters divide themselves into groups for a variety of activities. Some
of them attend classes, taught by instructors from the Department of Education, on Math, English and
Science.

Others are taught vocational lessons, such as handicraft making and dressmaking.

Lunch is prepared by the inmates themselves. In fact, they do most of the housekeeping chores in the
youth center. They are divided into groups for “laundry,” “housekeeping” and “kitchen” duties, among
others.

Classes resume at 1 p.m. At 3 p.m., the inmates are visited by their family and friends. At Molave, parents
are encouraged to take an active role in the rearing of their children through programs like the Parent
Effectiveness Seminar.

Visitation ends at 5 p.m., upon which the youngsters begin dinner preparations. After eating, they
assemble in the living room to watch television. Then, its lights out at 10 p.m.

Positive feedback

Feedback from organizations like the National Training School for Boys and the Albert Schweitzer
Association of the Philippines have been very positive, proof that Molave has been doing something right,
Cayco said.

Molave’s wards “can be easily identified from other detainees because they are disciplined, well-behaved
and courteous,” according to the coordinating agencies.

Molave’s success over the years can also be gauged by the hundreds of youngsters it has helped.

Aside from helping the inmates to realize that their lives aren’t necessarily over when they commit a
mistake, it has allowed them to turn a new leaf and to grow up strong and upright like the sturdy molave
tree.