What gov't officials, rights groups are saying about lowering the age of criminal responsibility
The school shooting in Tacloban City, where three students were killed and several others were injured, has sparked discussion on whether the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered.
The two suspects in the shooting are minors themselves, at 14 and 15. They remain in police custody as the investigation continues.
Criminal raps have been filed against the 15-year-old, according to Philippine National Police Region VIII Public Information Officer PLT Col. Analiza Armeza. This follows Republic Act No. 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, which states that a child above the age of 15 but below 18 shall be subjected to appropriate proceedings if he or she acted with discernment.
The law also states that the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 15 years old. Minors 15 years old and under at the time of the offense "shall be exempt from criminal liability," the act reads, adding that the child will be subjected to an intervention program.
Lawmakers like Sen. Robin Padilla have filed measures to lower the age of criminal liability to 10 years old in the 20th Congress. The proposed amendments have resurfaced and become the topic of discussion following the recent school shooting. Several government officials and rights groups, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., have offered their thoughts on whether the age of criminal responsibility should be lowered. Here's what they have said.
No to lowering the age of criminal responsibility
Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, the author of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, opposed the renewed call for amendments, explaining that it would not address what drives children to be in conflict with the law.
"Kasi Grade 3 'yan. 'Yun 'yung concern," he said in a video statement posted to his Facebook page.
"Kaya nga 'pag sinabi mong CICL, child in conflict with the law, pinabayaan ng mga magulang, hindi sila nabigyan ng sapat na suporta, walang trabaho, mahirap, mataas presyo ng bilihin, gutom, pero ang paparusahan mo 'yung 10 years old? Kaya nga siya naghirap dahil broken family. Iba-ibang dahilan bakit siya naging pariwara pero siya ang paparusahan," he said. "Ang sa akin, sabi ko nga noon, rather than amend the law, it's to strengthen the enforcement of the law."
Pangilinan also assured that CICL won't be held accountable under the Juvenile Justice Law. "Hindi dapat pinapakawalan ang mga menor de edad na nagkasala. Mali 'yun. Kontra 'yun sa batas."
Atty. Tricia Clare Oco, the executive director of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council, echoed that the focus should be on the drivers of violence.
"Marami namang bata alam [ang batas] pero hindi insisip, 'Ay mababa 'yung edad, papatay ako ng tao ngayon.' Usually nagtutulak sa kanila dysfunctionality kung saan sila nakatira, peer pressure, paano sila pinalaki, 'yung talagang environment nila," she said in Pangilinan's video.
In a DZMM interview, Senate President Win Gatchalian also expressed that he is against lowering the age of criminal responsibility, citing Valenzuela's experience with CICL while he was the city's mayor.
"'Yung mga CICL, 'pag binigyan ng tamang edukasyon, tamang gabay, and even spiritual guidance, eh narereporma sila at bumabalik sa lipunan na kapaki-pakinabang at tumutulong sa komunidad," he said.
"Kung may mga batang nawawala sa landas, mas marami naman 'yung narereporma at nababalik ng maayos sa lipunan. Kaya nakita kong importante dito ay maimplement ng maigi yung ating batas, 'yung pagbibigay ng reporma sa mga bata."
Gatchalian added that he is instead pushing for a social media ban for those 16 years old and under.
Lawmakers in the House of Representatives have also stated their opposition to the amendments.
ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima told ANC that lowering the age of criminal responsibility does not deter crime.
"That's not the solution. You see, RA 9344, the Juvenile Justice Act, is restorative. This is child-sensitive. We should not be treating young children in conflict with the law exactly the same as adult offenders," she said.
For his part, ACT Teachers' Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio called the proposal "barbaric."
"It represents the ultimate abdication of government responsibility. Rather than addressing the root causes of youth violence—chronic underfunding, severe shortages of guidance counselors, overcrowded classrooms, and inadequate psychosocial support—this proposal would criminalize vulnerable children instead of providing the care they desperately need," he said in a statement, further describing the proposed amendments as "cruelty."
Global human rights organization Amnesty International Philippines described the proposal as "dangerous."
"Such knee-jerk reactions fail to address the root causes of harm and places more children at risk," Section Director Ritz Lee Santos III said in a statement.
"Legislators should stop looking for punitive shortcuts and start confronting the systemic failures the Tacloban incident exposed, including gaps in child protection and weak psychosocial support in schools."
Yes to lowering the age of criminal responsibility
During a Malacañang press briefing, Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro said that Marcos is open to the proposal.
"Wala pa pong napag-uusapan tungkol sa edad, pero ang sabi nga natin, kung anuman ang maibibigay na version ng Kongreso, titingnan po 'yan ng Pangulo. Pero sa ating pagkakaalam, yes, open ang Pangulo kung mabababa man ang edad po," she said.
In the same briefing, PNP spokesperson PCol. Allen Co said the police also support the proposal, "but we are thinking 12 years old," he said.
"Medyo nagkakaproblema na po tayo. As a matter of fact, we studied 'yung data, 'yung statistics natin, medyo tumataas 'yung mga na-i-involve na CICL. Kaya po sa amin, titingnan din po naman if they acted with discernment."
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is also among the personalities supporting the calls. "The Juvenile Justice Law, the defect we see in our analysis, is that juveniles are now being used [as] drug couriers so that, if they get caught, they cannot be charged," he told reporters on June 24.
Padilla, who filed the proposal before the Senate, sent a plea to his fellow senators.
"Sana bigyan niyo naman ho ng panahon at pagkakataon 'yung aking panukala. I-amend na natin 'yang Juvenile [Justice Law]. Kasi talagang ang dami na eh, nasa mukha na natin," he told reporters. "Kung ganito na nagagaya tayo sa America na may namamaril na sa loob ng paaralan, siguro eto 'yung panahon na—kung seseryosohin natin 'to—eto 'yung pang special session."
Yes to reviewing proposed amendments
Certain lawmakers, like Sen. Migz Zubiri, emphasized the importance of revisiting the law to see if it needs amendments.
"We should also explore the possibility of amending the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act and study whether minors as young as 14 who commit heinous crimes such as murder, rape, and similar grave offenses should be tried as adults, with due process, discernment, and rehabilitation still properly considered," he said.
Meanwhile, Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo A. Garbin Jr. said that if the unverified screenshots of the alleged conversation between the two shooters prove true, the implications are "chilling."
"We will have confirmed that our laws are no longer merely failing to deter; they are actively emboldening. We will, in effect, be breeding a generation of young offenders who understand crime not as a moral boundary, but as a calculated risk insulated by age, children with criminal minds who, left unchecked, may graduate into far more heinous offenders as they grow older," he wrote in a statement.
Screenshots of supposed messages between the two shooters have surfaced online, wherein they discussed the Juvenile Justice Law as well as their plans to attack the school.
DSWD affirms 'strict' adherence to Juvenile Justice Law
On June 23, Department of Social Welfare and Development Sec. Rex Gatchalian said that the law is clear on addressing CICL.
"Marami kasi nagsasabi na baka hindi maparusahan ang dapat maparusahan—quite the contrary," he said in a DZBB interview.
"[Mawawala] sila sa komunidad nila. Ilalagay sila sa Bahay Pag-asa o Rehabilitation Center for the Youth kung saan dadaan sila sa masusing intervention o diversion plan kung tawagin para masigurado natin na angkop ‘yung intervention."