One of the salient features of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 (JJWA) is the establishment of Bahay Pag-asa (BPA), a 24-hour child-caring institution in the Philippines that provides temporary shelter, psychosocial interventions, education and rehabilitation programs for children in conflict with the law (CICL) to support their reintegration in the community.
But even before the enactment of the law in 2006, the term ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ had already been used in Bacolod.
According to Brother Kenneth Martinez, President of the University of St. La Salle (USLS), the idea began in 1999 when the De La Salle brothers started visiting children detained alongside adults at the Handumanan City Jail in Bacolod.
Seeing the situation of these children, the brothers decided to create a facility for them inside USLS campus. Construction started in 2001, and the facility opened in 2002. Br. Martinez shared that when they were deciding on a name for the center, he proposed ‘Bahay Pag-asa.’ He thought of jail as a barrier for these children, depriving them of imagination and hope.
He emphasized that many of the children did not even get a second chance, because for most of them, life had never given them a real first chance due to poverty, abuse, neglect, and dysfunctional family environments.
“And their first chance will happen in Bahay Pag-asa. Where hopes can happen, when there are no bars, what they can dream to become. And this will be the place where it will happen,” Br. Martinez shared.
A House of Hope
For Br. Martinez Bahay Pag-asa was meant to be more than just a detention facility, because it was designed to feel like a ‘bahay’ or house in English, where love, forgiveness, and chances are given.
“The Bahay is the start of everyone’s foundation. The Bahay is a place where you are at home. Where you are accepted. Where you are loved unconditionally. Where you are supported. In your dreams. In your brokenness. In who you are,” he added.
Br. Martinez said the impact of Bahay Pag-asa is evident in former residents who return to inspire the children currently staying at the facility, often treating them to meals and snacks from their own pockets. Despite the hardships they faced, some have gone on to become licensed criminologists, educators, and seafarers.
“That means the place that they stayed in for two, three, or four years is a place they would like to come back to. Not a place that kept them from their freedom. It was a place of transformation,” Br. Martinez said.
A Brighter Future for CICL
Years later, the term ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ was officially institutionalized under Republic Act No. 10630, which amended the JJWA and formally recognized it as the facility for CICL. Based on the latest data from the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC), there are currently 118 operational Bahay Pag-asa run by local government units (LGUs) and accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the country.
As the JJWA marks its 20th anniversary on May 20 this year, Br. Martinez said he hopes all Bahay Pag-asa across the country continue becoming places of unconditional love, forgiveness, healing, and transformation for CICL.