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- House committee approved bill that would lower the minimum age for criminal liability to nine years old.
- Netizens expressed their disappointment regarding the decision.
The House committee on justice approved the bill that would lower the criminal liability from 15 years old to nine years old.
The panel gave a thumbs up to the substitute bill that would amend Republic Act (RA) 10630. It currently allows 15-year-old criminal responsibility; allows those as young as 12 to be detained in youth care facilities or Bahay Pag-asa for crimes such as rape, murder, and homicide.
The said House Bill would mandate those nine to 14 years old who commit murder, parricide, infanticide, serious legal detention, car-napping, and violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 – to be subjected to “mandatory confinement” for rehabilitation.
Netizens have expressed their opinions regarding the House bill, most of them expressing disappointment.
Lowering the age of criminal liability to 9 is a sign that we now lack the strength and empathy to protect our most vulnerable. We have allowed ourselves to become so lazy and so paralyzed by fear that we perceive children as threats and ignore all the promise they hold.
— Viko Fumar (@VikoFumar) January 21, 2019
As a psych major, I am concerned about the lowering of the age of criminal liability as it goes against everything we know in child & developmental psychology.
As a human, I am simply appalled. How low & heartless have we become as a society.
— Nicolas Basilio Antonio (@Nicolas_Czar) January 21, 2019
They have also started the hashtag #ChildrenNotCriminals.
https://twitter.com/PencilTreks/status/1087266143973208064
The fact that members of Congress would agree to lower the minimum age of criminal liability speaks a lot abt how they put malice & bad faith to the Filipino kids. Kaloka di ba kayo mahal ng mama nyo??? #ChildrenNotCriminals
— Vince #EndFRV (@vinceliban) January 21, 2019
https://twitter.com/sosyolohiya/status/1087191173423280128
A Netizen also stated that the government should not stop depriving the children of their rights to have a brighter future and develop programs that can help them instead.
ibababa sa 9 years old ang criminal liability?? stop depriving their right to have a brighter future, they can change! im not justifying their wrong acts but for me instead of treating them as criminals, we should have programs where we can give them hope that they can be better.
— Aliss (@alissconol) January 19, 2019
lowering age of criminal liability to 9 y.o???
dont u remember being 9 & always following what the older ppl do bc u thought theyre always right???
this new law makes children so much more vulnerable of being conveniently used then discarded
our lawmakers are complete fuck-ups
— Marela Aryan Balagot (@maantok) January 19, 2019
they wanted to eliminate drugs so they went for the drug addicts and pushers, but not the big drug lords and smugglers.
they want to protect children from being used by syndicates so they will lower the age of criminal liability to 9 years old
1+1 = fish?????
— clarice #SOGIEEqualityNow (@iveronclarice) January 21, 2019
Amid the opposition of many, House justice panel chairperson and Oriental Mindoro first District Representative Paulino Salvador Leachon stated that they are not putting the children to jail.
“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 the law.”
