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Reformation, not punishment for youth offenders – commish
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Friday, March 31, 2017
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ILOILO City – Lowering the age of criminal responsibility won’t solve the country’s peace and order problem, according to Commissioner Rhea Peñaflor of the National Youth Commission.
“Why are they committing crimes? Indi naton pagbasulon ang mga kabataan. Instead we have to help them,” said Peñaflor in a radio interview.
Children in conflict with the law should be reformed, stressed the Ilongga commissioner.
Peñaflor lamented the police’s practice of arresting juvenile delinquents and detaining them in prison cells.
They should not be treated like adult law offenders, she stressed.
Apprehended minors should instead be remitted to a reformatory institution where they could be rehabilitated, said the commissioner.
“Dira ‘ya, indi s’ya pagsakiton, indi man s’ya pagpresohon. Instead, i-reform s’ya,” said Peñaflor.
Recently, the spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) said minors arrested in antidrug operations of the police will be slapped with appropriate charges.
It will be up to the prosecutor to appreciate the complaint filed, said Superintendent Gilbert Gorero. He was reacting to observations that minors were being used by drug traffickers to escape prosecution.
Republic Act (RA) 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 set the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 15 years old.
Section 6 of the Act as amended by RA 10630 states: “A child 15 years of age or under at the time of the commission of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability. However, the child shall be subjected to an intervention program pursuant to Section 20 of this Act.”
A child above 15 years but below 18 years of age shall likewise be exempt from criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention program, unless he/she has acted with discernment, in which case, such child shall be subjected to the appropriate proceedings in accordance with the Act./PN
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