Critics slam bill lowering age of criminal responsibility in Philippines

By Jheruleene Anne Ramos 

A bill seeking to lower the age of criminal responsibility in the Philippines has drawn criticism from lawmakers, human rights groups and experts, who argue the move would not deter crime.

In July, Senator Robinhood Padilla filed a bill to amend Republic Act (RA) No. 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, seeking to reduce the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 10.

Under the proposal, children aged 10 to 17 who commit crimes punishable by more than 12 years in prison, would no longer be exempt from prosecution.

Children aged 10 to 17 who commit non-heinous crimes would still be placed in Bahay Pag-asa facilities and undergo community-based interventions.

The bill also raises the minimum age from 12 to 15 in cases of repeat offences involving minors aged 15 to 18, but only for non-heinous crimes.

In addition, automatic suspension of sentence would apply only if the offender is under 18 and commits a non-heinous crime.

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Proposed bill ‘must address gap’

In his explanatory note, Padilla said children today are “more exposed to modern sensibilities and predisposed to risk-taking behavior,” citing the rising number of youth offenders.

Padilla expressed optimism that the government will be able to address what he called a gap in the existing law when it comes to serious crimes committed by minors. 

“The law remains unresponsive, if not completely remiss in exacting justice, from juvenile offences to heinous crimes,” he said, referring to the existing law. 

“While we make it clear that our thrust is to ensure that youth offenders are dealt with through the lens of restorative and not punitive justice, we must guarantee that the integrity of our justice system remains and that we do not condone a more precarious state of abuse towards our children,” he added. 

Lowering criminal age ‘won’t deter crime’

However, Illinois-based criminology professor Raymund Narag warned that lowering the age of criminal responsibility would not prevent minors from breaking the law but instead push them deeper into the criminal justice system.

“There’s no deterrence factor, even if the criminal age of responsibility is law and punitive. Children will only lead further astray because of their entanglement with the criminal justice system,” he told Inquirer. 

Narag also cautioned that exposure to hardened criminals could foster “criminogenic thinking,” or thought patterns that encourage criminal behavior.

The Child Rights Network (CRN) echoed these concerns, saying the measure would trap more children in a “broken adult justice system” and raise the likelihood of repeat offences.

Stronger implementation of existing law urged

Instead of lowering the age, CRN urged authorities to strengthen the implementation of RA No. 9344, which already holds minors accountable through rehabilitative measures.

“This is the truth that needs to be repeated over and over again: All kids that violate the law, no matter the age, have a liability to the Juvenile Justice Law,” the CRN said in a statement. 

The rights group also urged the authorities to provide more funding and support for community-based and rehabilitative initiatives, as well as increasing the number of social workers to help children who violated the law. 

Government urged to tackle root cause of juvenile delinquency 

Narag also stressed the government should focus on improving families, communities, social support networks and labor protections to provide children with a “loving and caring environment” that prevents delinquency.

Similarly, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Representative Leila De Lima said in July that the government must fix the system by asking the right and hard questions behind the reason why children got involved in crimes. 

“We do not fix a broken justice system by putting its weight on the smallest, weakest shoulders.

“The bill does not address crime. It punishes trauma, it does not protect society and it betrays children we have already failed,” she said.

Child rights advocates insist that strengthening existing laws and addressing root causes would not only reduce crime but also give young offenders a chance at rehabilitation and redemption.

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