The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), through the National Prosecution Service Special Projects Division (NPS-SPD) Technical Working Group on Women and Children, partnered in rolling-out the 1st Training on Diversion for Prosecutors and Pilot Implementation of the Training Manual on Diversion for Prosecutors last November 4-7, 2024 at the Kingsford Hotel, Paranaque, Metro Manila.

The training course and pilot implementation stem from the multi-agency partnership of JJWC, the Consuelo Zobel Alger Foundation and the DOJ Committee for the Special Protection of Children, under the supervision of Undersecretary Raul T. Vasquez and Assistant Secretary Majken Anika S. Gran-Ong.

Since 2023, the DOJ and JJWC have been working together in crafting the Training Manual which will serve as the general guide in capacitating prosecutors in their role as a diversion authority, facilitating diversion proceedings, as well as designing, implementing and monitoring diversion programs for children in conflict with the law (CICL). For this purpose, a pool of specialized trainers and experts on diversion was organized (Department Order No. 559 dated October 5, 2023) to draft, develop, finalize and validate the training manual and to cascade the same at the local level.

The opening ceremonies was attended by high level officials from the DOJ and JJWC. Usec Vasquez provided the opening remarks and Patricia Lim Ah Ken from the Child Protection Program of UNICEF gave her message of support for the program. Likewise in attendance are Atty. Tricia Clare Oco, Executive Director of the JJWC, and City Prosecutor Giselle Marie Geronimo, head of the SPD TWG on Women and Children.

The 4-day training and pilot implementation espouses outcome-based education training, with modules focusing on the CICL and the prosecutor, restorative justice, discernment as a diversion pre-requisite and the roles of a diversion authority.

Various learning activities and group exercises were conducted to further enrich the participant prosecutors learning experience, which included mock diversion conference exercises and the crafting of an actual diversion contract.

The culmination activity followed with the awarding of certificates to 35 prosecutors from different prosecution offices nationwide.