Senators oppose moves to lower age of discernment

Senators have opposed proposals to lower the age of criminal liability, as pushed by President Duterte, saying it will not rehabilitate youth offenders.

Based on his experience in Valenzuela City, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said putting up centers for juvenile offenders has “very good results in reforming the kids.”

”Almost 70 percent of the kids there were reformed and were brought back to their families. I think we should give the JJW (Juvenile Justice Welfare) Act a chance. It should be fully implemented,” Gatchalian said.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, an ally of Duterte, also rejected the proposal, especially if the lower limit would be nine years old. ”My daughter is nine years old, they’re innocent at that age,” Zubiri said.

He added that he may agree if the lowest age of criminal liability will be at age 12 or 13.

For Sen. Grace Poe, the proposal, if approved along with the reimposition of the death penalty, will only promote a cruel society. ”What kind of society are we creating if we are going to cruelly punish a child, who does not have a clear understanding of the situation?” Poe asked.

She said it is not true that minors today mature early because of social media. Even if children imitate adults based on what they see in social media, the solution is for parents and guardians to be more vigilant and protective of their wards, according to her. Poe added that stiffer penalties should also be imposed on irresponsible parents. “Why is Duterte focusing on young children, who, he says, are being used by criminal syndicates? Then, they should go after the criminal syndicates,” Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum recently. Trillanes recalled that when he was in jail on rebellion charges, he would play basketball with a teenage former Abu Sayyaf member.

The teenager said he was happy every time he played basketball even when he was in detention, as he recalled that he was already being told to use guns when he was still a child, according to the senator.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the administration “must stop its fixation with regressive law enforcement measures and obsession with death.”

“By treating children in con- flict with the law as hardened criminals, our kids could either end up dead in the hands of extrajudicial killers or of the state.

They could become targets of vigilante death squads, which have already killed thousands of Filipinos, or land on death row if a lowered age of criminal liability is combined with the death penalty law,” she said.

Sen. Francis Escudero said he was cool to the proposal but was willing to listen to arguments for it.