ILOILO City – Lowering the age of criminal responsibility to nine years old would make children open targets of tokhang or the war against drug trafficking and other crimes, warned the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Panay.
The House Committee on Justice approved yesterday a bill lowering the age of criminal liability from 15 to nine years old, an amendment to Republic Act (RA) 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.
The panel only took about five minutes to approve the committee report containing the still unnumbered substitute bill after Capiz’s Cong. Fredenil Castro motioned for its approval, following the opening remarks of panel chair Oriental Mindoro’s Cong. Salvador Leachon.
Castro’s motion was immediately seconded despite objections from Gabriela’s Cong. Arlene Brosas and Agusan del Norte’s Cong. Lawrence Fortun.
The committee report harmonized six bills lowering the of age criminal responsibility: House Bill Nos. 2, 505, 935, 1609, 2009 and 3973.
According to Bayan Panay, lowering the age of criminal liability to nine – or even 12 years old, the Senate’s version – is a short-sighted approach to solving criminality involving children.
Blame is put primarily on children without due consideration of the circumstances behind their involvement in crimes, according to the group.
“This could only mean that children above nine years old can now be subjected to Oplan Tokhang just as what many youth victims have suffered,” according to Bayan Panay.
It urged the government to conduct “an objective and thorough study of the economic and socio-cultural factors behind the involvement of children in crimes.”
It believed poverty is one major factor.
“The social cost of the absence of parents who are forced by work to be away from their families should be remedied. The psychological effect on minors of the prevailing heightened violence and impunity, and other possible factors should also be resolved,” according to Bayan Panay.
In his opening remarks yesterday, Leachon said the bill was brought about by the increase in the number of criminal syndicates using minors to carry out criminal acts.
The lawmaker also noted that the original minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) in the Revised Penal Code was nine years old. This was only changed after almost 70 years in 2006 upon the effectivity of RA 9344, which increased the MACR to 15.
“It is high time to pass this bill to protect our children from being used by ruthless and unscrupulous criminal syndicates to evade prosecution and punishment,” said Leachon.
The chair of the House justice panel said the children who commit criminal acts would not be thrown in jail but in reformative institutions like Bahay Pag-asa.
“Let it be understood that with the present bill, we are not putting these children in jail but in reformative institutions to correct their ways and bring them back to the community. They are not branded as criminals but children in conflict with law,” he said.
Reformative institutions do not punish individuals; they help children to be integrated back to the community after they have committed criminal acts, Leachon said./PN
