Senate on juvenile law: More must be done

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate committee on justice and human rights yesterday wrapped up its hearing into proposals to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

Lawmakers and experts agreed that much more must be done than just amending the law.

The committee, chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon, tackled measures seeking to lower the country’s minimum age of criminal responsibility and called for a congressional review on the implementation of Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.

Gordon, Senate President Vicente Sotto III and several other senators indicated they are open to lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility but only up to 12 years old, or three years older than what President Duterte wanted.

During the second and last hearing yesterday, senators as well as experts lamented the dismal performance of concerned agencies as well as local government units (LGUs) in implementing RA 9344 that they said should be remedied instead of amending the law.

Gordon, who voted for the law in 2006, said he is inclined to recommend in his report to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old even as he acknowledged that it would be met with strong opposition from those who do not want the law touched.

Gordon said a compromise must be reached to also address the concerns of sectors in favor of lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility. He added the envisioned amendments would impose greater accountability and appropriations to implementing agencies.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Albayalde told the hearing of the apparent rising trend of minors involved in heinous crimes.

When the hearing was tackling the mental capacity and maturity of children at different ages, Año said based on initial analysis of available PNP data, the crimes committed by minors spike when they reach 10 years old and the offenses include murder, robbery and rape.

He said recidivists are usually aged 12 to 15.

Quezon City councilor Ranulfo Ludovica said in his more than 10 years of being a barangay chairman, they have rounded up children “in conflict with the law” and had them tested for drugs.

Ludovica found that some as young as six years old were positive for illegal substances.

Almost always, Ludovica said the parents of these children are also drug users. Some families with children found to be drug users are also recipients of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) cash subsidies or 4Ps.

Liane Alampay, director of the Psychological Association of the Philippines, however, warned there is no difference in the general psychological profiles of children aged nine to 15.

“All are still growing in brain development and are still learning how to make decisions and control impulses and regulate emotions,” Alampay said.

She said children as young as four generally know what is right or wrong but are still struggling on controlling their behavior.

Alampay said lowering the age would only mean additional thousands of children in conflict with the law packed in poorly equipped 24-hour halfway homes or Bahay Pag-asa.

Tricia Oco, executive director of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Center, said out of the P400 million allocated in 2013 to build the halfway homes, only P40 million has been spent for the purpose.

Of the 114 Bahay Pag-asa that should have been built under the law, only 55 have been built, most of which have no staff to run programs. Each center costs around P15 million.

Oco said LGUs remain the major bottleneck because while DSWD contributes P5 million for each Bahay Pag-asa, the concerned LGU must put up P10 million.

Worst legislative measure

Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Rafael told a forum that 2,000 minors were “rescued,” half of them tagged as pushers, during anti-illegal drug operations since 2016. 

Authorities said a total of 1,954 minors, aged nine to 17, were rescued for alleged involvement in illegal drug activities. 

Six of these minors were supposed drug den maintainers, 264 were drug users and another two were cultivators. 

The rest were either in possession of illegal drugs, visitors of a drug den or in the employ of a drug den.

Rafael pointed out the numbers in defending House Bill 8588 that aims to lower the minimum age for criminal liability following criticism from many sectors.

“I want to make it clear that it is not automatic under the law for an errant child to be criminally responsible,” she said. 

Rafael said the involvement of children in illegal drugs and criminality has been in the spotlight recently as President Duterte expressed his support for the lowering of the age of criminal liability to 12. 

For Rep. Lito Atienza of party-list Buhay, HB 8588 “is the worst ever legislative measure introduced in Congress.”

“We should not approve this proposal. It is a product of obviously disoriented minds. Have we gone so crazy to put in jail minors who commit wrongdoing?” Atienza remarked.

He said proponents and supporters of the bill could not agree if child offenders are increasing in number.

While the sponsor of the measure, Mindoro Rep. Salvador Leachon, claims the number is going up, Atienza said the PNP is asserting it is going down.

The president of the Ateneo de Manila University also reiterated his opposition to lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

In a memo to the university community, Ateneo president Jose Ramon Villarin said Congress is mulling on returning to an outdated standard.

The Center for Women’s Resources (CWR) said the proposed law makes children more defenseless and exposed to abuses from state forces.

The group warned against the legislators’ attempt to railroad the bill.

Even with the current minimum age of criminal responsibility of 15 years old, the CWR said more than 26,000 children have been tagged as “drug surrenderees” and “treated like ordinary adult criminals.” – With Romina Cabrera, Janvic Mateo, Helen Flores, Eva Visperas