ILOILO – Lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility is not the answer to crimes involving minors, Iloilo 3rd District’s Cong. Lorenz Defensor said, arguing that weak enforcement of existing laws and failures by parents, institutions and government should be addressed instead.
Defensor opposed proposals to reduce the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 12 years old, saying Republic Act 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, already provides mechanisms for dealing with children who commit offenses.
“Indi puede nga islan naton ang batas kada may matabo nga wala kita nakapreparar. Manami na ang batas subong nga ang 15 to 18 kun nag-akto with discernment or nabal-an nila kun ano gina-obra nila ma-priso sila kag ang manubo pa dira, indi mapriso,” Defensor told Panay News.
The renewed push to lower the age of criminal responsibility followed recent violent incidents involving minors, including a shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte, where the suspects were aged 14 and 15. Three people were killed and 20 others were injured.
Calls for tougher measures were again raised following a separate shooting at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University that killed a student.
Defensor, however, cautioned against changing the law in reaction to individual incidents, saying doing so could simply create another problem once younger children are sent to jail.
“Kun islan ta naman ina kag may biktima na naman nga bata nga napriso, sigurada ako nga may magreklamo na naman liwat nga-a ginapriso naton ang mga kabataan kag indi ang may sala, mga ginikanan nga pabaya, ang institution nga pabaya,” he said.
Instead of lowering the age threshold, Defensor said authorities should strictly enforce the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act while ensuring that parents, schools and other institutions fulfill their responsibilities toward children.
He said the country already has adequate laws but continues to suffer from poor implementation and insufficient political will.
“Sa pito ko ka tuig sa Kongreso, damo-damo kita sang layi kag manami ang mga layi naton, kulang lang gid kita sa implementation kag political will nga i-enforce ang mga laye naton,” Defensor said.
Under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, a child aged 15 or younger at the time an offense is committed is exempt from criminal liability but must undergo an intervention program.
Children above 15 but below 18 are likewise exempt from criminal liability unless they acted with discernment, in which case they may be subjected to appropriate proceedings under the law.
Iloilo 4th District’s Cong. Ferjenel Biron, meanwhile, said he has yet to take a position on proposals to lower the age of criminal responsibility, stressing that their possible social impact on children must first be carefully examined.
“I don’t have any stand yet. I will study the proposed measures and the social impact on our child,” Biron told Panay News.
Biron said strengthening character and values formation in the school curriculum could help address the involvement of minors in crimes, particularly in light of the incidents in Tacloban and Zamboanga.
He also stressed that values formation must begin at home, with parents teaching children proper behavior and values at an early age./PN
