GMA moves to lower age of criminal liability

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is set to approve a bill lowering the age of criminal liability from 15 years to nine years.

Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo “will move for the passage of the bill in support of a request from President Duterte,” according to a statement from her office yesterday.

She is scheduled to attend the hearing tomorrow of the committee on justice chaired by Mindoro Oriental Rep. Salvador Leachon, which will tackle measures seeking to reduce the age of criminal responsibility.

Sources said the Speaker, whom boxing champion Sen. Manny Pacquiao has personally invited to watch his fight with American Adrien Broner in Las Vegas, Nevada, would not be able honor the invitation.

Among the measures the justice committee would tackle are Bill 505, authored by Tarlac Rep. Victor Yap and filed on July 27, 2016, and Bill 2009, introduced by Antipolo City Rep. Romeo Acop.

Under Bill 505, a child 9-years-old and below at the time of the commission of offense would be exempt from criminal liability and released to their parents subject to community service supervised by a social worker.

Those above nine years of age but below 18 years would be exempt from criminal liability unless the offender acted with discernment.

Opposition Rep. Gary Alejano of party-list group Magdalo said lowering the age of criminal liability “is a shortsighted solution that puts the blame on the children instead of addressing the underlying reasons why they engage in criminal activities.” 

“This perceived solution does not take into account the shortcomings of the family, community and the government.
Currently, the government has very limited capacity to rehabilitate criminals. Detention centers are overcrowded. We have to think about children in conflict with the law the moment we mix them with adult offenders in crowded detention facilities,” he said.

Instead of putting child-offenders in jail, Alejano suggested that lawmakers “strengthen existing juvenile delinquency laws, improve detention centers for children and provide the necessary intervention and care.”

“Above all, the government must improve the youth’s socioeconomic conditions by providing them educational opportunities and livelihood for their families and fostering a child-friendly community…The children are victims as well. Instead of finding ways to jail them, the government should create an environment where they are protected and cared for,” he said.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) expressed concern yesterday over the efforts of lawmakers to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility in the Philippines to below 15-years-old.

UNICEF country representative in the Philippines Lotta Sylwander said the proposal to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 years to 9 years violates the letter and spirit of the rights of a child.

“There is a lack of evidence and data that children are responsible for the increase in crime rates committed in the Philippines. Lowering the age of criminal responsibility will not deter adult offenders from abusing children to commit crimes,” she said.

“UNICEF supports the Philippine government, as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to ensure that children grow up in a safe environment protected from crime and violence,” she added.

Sylwander said lowering the age of criminal responsibility is an act of violence against children. 

“Children in conflict with the law are already victims of circumstance, mostly because of poverty and exploitation by adult crime syndicates. Children who are exploited and driven by adults to commit crimes need to be protected, not further penalized. Instead they should be given a second chance to reform and to rehabilitate,” she added. – With Janvic Mateo