TANAUAN, Leyte – The management of the Regional Rehabilitation Center for the Youth (RRCY-8) based inn this town anticipate a rise in the number of children in conflict with law to be admitted this year to the center.

RRCY had served 82 residents and about half of them were already discharged last year based on courts order. But this early of the year, 16 minors form the city jail are already candidates for admission to the center.

Institution head Marcela Lim told Leyte Samar Daily Express that with the worsening economic situation; many children might resort to doing unlawful acts just to meet their needs.

In her assessment financial capability of their families would be the main reason why many minors might violate and consequently be admitted in the center for rehabilitation.

Because of this, Lim has proposed a bigger budget of about P4 million for the center this year.

Testimonies of children that if only their families sent them to school, they would be willing to study and become productive citizens, Lim said.

She added that some of the youth residents who were already discharged might also be involved in crime because of financial problems of their families, resulting in their re-admission to the rehabilitation center.

But she said there is a proposed program that would look into the plight of children in conflict with law who had been discharged from the center. Under the program, they would be supervised and taken care even outside the rehabilitation center. They would either be sent to school or placed in a rented private house so that full rehabilitation could be realized.