Oppose the lowering of age of criminal responsibility for our children’s better future

On Monday, 21 January 2019, the Committee on Justice of the House of Representatives approved a measure that would reduce the minimum age of criminal liability from 15 to nine (9) years old. In the Senate, a similar proposal sets the lowered age at 12 years.

Lowering the age of criminal responsibility be it to 9 or 12 years old is a simplistic response that disregards the complexity of juvenile delinquency. The problem on juvenile delinquency, prefatorily, is rooted on socio-economic factors, such as poverty and lack of opportunities that lead to exploitation of minors, who, in view of their vulnerability, are victims of circumstance more than anything else and not perpetrators of crimes.

Proponents of lowering the age of criminal responsibility claim that the measure is meant to discourage syndicates from using children for crimes. What will stop syndicates from using children below 9 years old then? The best way to address this is to intensify police operations against individuals and syndicates who continue to target the vulnerabilities of children and use them as instruments for their crimes.

Rather than arbitrarily adjusting the age, we must be able to fully implement the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, as well as address the gaps in the implementation of the law, such as funding the establishment of Bahay Pag-asa (House of Hope) across the country that are meant to be rehabilitation hubs for children in conflict with the law (CICL). Bahay Pag-asa centers are envisioned to deliver interventions that would stop a child offender from repeating offenses—this is a more sustainable solution.

We must also hold accountable government agencies and officials who are tasked to implement the law and have failed to do so.

Through more responsive solutions, we can ensure that we will give our children a good chance of having a bright future despite their failings when they were younger.

Children are victims, not criminals. We should not punish them for society’s failure to protect them. Instead, those exploiting children should be made accountable and be the ones punished. ###