Spare Filipino kids from toxic politics

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations International Children’s Educational Fund (UNICEF) in the Philippines, we deemed it timely to discuss about issues related to children’s welfare and rights in this week’s Kapihan sa Manila Bay at Café Adriatico in Malate. We talked about a broad range of national issues where Filipino children are in the center of debates at the halls of the 17th Congress – from the proposed lowering of age in criminal responsibility to increasing the minimum age in sexual consent and statutory rape cases.

In the course of our discussions, the UNICEF renewed its call to the Philippine government to take a second look at the plight of Filipino children in terms of access to medical care, the drug addiction menace, children-centered disability treatments, declining immunization in the country, the right to education, children used or caught in armed conflicts, among other social and economic factors affecting our country’s young population.

We were joined on these discussions by no less than UNICEF country representative in the Philippines Lotta Sylwander; Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano who is popularly known for her advocacy on children’s rights and welfare; and Dr. Gerardo “Gap” Legaspi, executive director of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).

We focused our discussions on the proposed amendment to Republic Act (RA) 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act which no less than President Rodrigo Duterte is pushing approval by the 17th Congress, specifically Senate Bill 2026 which seeks to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility from the present 15 years old to 13. Authored by Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, President Duterte assailed RA 9344 as having been patterned from US laws that do not have provisions appropriate for Filipino “children in conflict with the law,” the politically correct term for children who commit crimes.

At the Lower Chamber, Cayetano, who sits as ex-officio member on all House committees, has been helping shepherd the House counterpart bills which are going through revisions under her close watch. Making a comeback at the Senate in the coming mid-term elections in May 2019, Cayetano disclosed she has been helping tweak these House bills for more acceptable provisions that will refer to “accountability, not criminal responsibility/liability” for children in conflict with law.

As the “champion” for children’s rights and welfare, the UNICEF is naturally opposed to President Duterte’s pet bill. Speaking for the UNICEF, Sylwander underscored the stand of this UN attached agency to protect children from being treated as common criminals and thrown to jail along with adult criminals.

Citing official statistics from the Philippine National Police (PNP), Sylwander noted nearly ten percent of crimes committed in the Philippines belong to this age group bracket. Thus, the UNICEF is worried over this lowering of age of criminal responsibility because of the sheer number of Filipino children who would not be given a second chance of redeeming themselves.

Should the bill gets approved into law, Sylwander, however, conceded the UNICEF will remain committed in guarding the rights and welfare of Filipino children through its support programs and project assistance to various Philippine government agencies. Incidentally, UNICEF provides an average of $22 to $25 million a year of funding assistance to the Philippines, including the annual budget of its home office here in Manila.

By way of anecdote, Sylwander is a self-confessed Filipina by heart because she was once married to a Filipino and has two children with him. She has been divorced from him (a certain Rojas) and their half-Filipino and half-Swedish children are now all adults and leading their own lives in Sweden.

For his part, Dr. Legaspi who is a neurosurgeon specializing on the care of children patients, noted the studies that have shown the maturation of a person’s brain cells is at 21 years old. Speaking from a medical point of view, the good doctor pointed to the “cognitive understanding” at such age must be considered in the crafting of this law.

In our forum, Dr. Legaspi brought up the importance of proper healthcare for children with disabilities (CWD), especially those coming from low income families. Legaspi set up the Pediatric Neurosurgical and Craniofacial Operating Unit at PGH that is run with private funding which so far has treated 4,000 CWDs, mostly indigent patients needing surgery and are now living normal lives. 

Cayetano said she understands where President Duterte – as Davao City Mayor for so many years – is coming from. Like many local government officials before but who are now in Congress, she noted, they dealt with crimes involving children as perpetrators.

Both the UNICEF and Cayetano, however, agree that it is more urgent to fully implement RA 9344 that mandated the Department of Social Welfare and Development and other government agencies to provide support systems for the rehabilitation of children in conflict with the law to restore them as law-abiding citizens.

At the same forum, both the UNICEF and Cayetano also were one in support for the age of sexual consent/statutory rape raised from the present 12 years old to 16 years of age. While this proposed amendment of the existing laws may take too long a time, Cayetano pushed for stronger implementation of the foster care system as embodied in the Foster Care Act or RA 10165 which she authored in the past Congress but is not being fully implemented.

Since the election season is upon us already in the Philippines, Cayetano admitted, these pending bills may not be passed into law at all but will have to wait for the next Congress.

Our officials must ensure toxic politics do not come into play on matters that would help enhance and protect the future of our own Filipino children.

At the end of the day, as the cliche goes, we have to ensure that the rights and welfare of the present and next generation of Pinoy kids are spared from toxic politics in our country.