EDITORIAL - Age of criminal liability

With president-elect Rodrigo Duterte promising a crackdown on criminality, among his legislative priorities is to lower the minimum age for criminal liability. The minimum is currently pegged above age 15, with those below 18 also spared from criminal liability unless “discernment” is established in committing an offense.

Duterte himself has not mentioned a specific age, but lawmakers are said to be eyeing a return to the previous minimum of 12 years. While any effort to save minors from the stigma of a criminal record is laudable, crime rings saw the advantage of the higher minimum age and recruited minors for illegal activities.

The revised Juvenile Justice law, enacted in 2013, penalized the inducement of children to commit crimes. Still, children were recruited by adults as drug couriers, jueteng bet collectors, members of organized pickpocketing rings, and runners for fences of snatched mobile phones and other items. Many thieves of vehicle parts are minors. Because of such activities, lowering the minimum age of criminal liability is likely to enjoy public support.

The move, however, must not overlook the fact that these are minors who still have many years ahead and deserve a chance to enjoy fruitful and productive lives. Lowering the age of criminal liability must be accompanied by a boost in the state’s capability to rehabilitate juvenile offenders. The revised law, Republic Act 10630, provided for the establishment of halfway homes or Bahay Pag-Asa in every province and chartered city for juvenile offenders. How many are in operation and doing the job?

RA 10630 also created a Juvenile Justice and Welfare Committee in every region to implement the law and craft effective intervention programs to rehabilitate young offenders. The incoming administration must review the progress of these regional committees.

The objective in the intervention programs is to make juvenile offenders, most of whom come from impoverished families, realize that poverty need not be synonymous with a life of crime. As the name of the Bahay Pag-Asa halfway homes indicate, young offenders must be given hope. They deserve a second chance; they must be able to dare to dream that life can be better.