Valenzuela City broke grounds today at R. Jacinto Street, Canumay West to make way for the construction of the PhP 7.6 million detention center for children in conflict with the law (CICL) to be known as “Bahay Pag-asa ng Valenzuela.”

The activity is one of the highlights of Valenzuela City’s 14^th Charter  Day Anniversary celebration, with the theme “14 na Regalo para sa 14 na Taon ng Maunlad na Lungsod ng Valenzuela,” City Mayor Sherwin T. Gatchalian and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary, Corazon “Dinky” Soliman led the ceremony.

The center, to be supervised by the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), will house juvenile delinquents who have committed crimes within the city instead of having them sent to congested and overcrowded mainstream prisons. 

The construction of Bahay Pag-asa is in support to the implementation of Republic Act 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which mandates local government units (LGUs) to set aside budget to build a youth detention center. It will initially be two storeys high with the intention of expanding to a third. It will have a holding capacity of more than 40 residents with the possibility of increasing twice as much after future expansion.

The 650-square meter Bahay Pag-asa building will boast of a Mediterranean villa-styled architectural design and will feature facilities such as segregated sleeping quarters for boys and girls, a dining hall, a prayer room, several isolation rooms and round-the-clock security cameras among others.

The center will offer various programs for rehabilitation, such as education, spiritual healing, among others that are geared towards eventual re-integration of the CICL to their families and to the community.

The site is located across the recently-opened Bahay Kalinga ng Valenzuela, which was inaugurated today.