Lowering age of criminal liability will turn kids into crime scapegoats —HRW

The proposal to lower the minimum age of criminal liability in the Philippines will only result in children being used as scapegoats in the Duterte administration's campaign against crimes, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday.

"Children in the Philippines have already been subjected to the extreme violence of Duterte’s drug war, with the police and government agents killing dozens during anti-drug operations as suspected drug users or for being pawns of drug dealers," HRW Asia Division researcher Carlos Conde said in a statement.

"The proposed law will not only stigmatize children even more – it turns them into scapegoats in the government’s abusive anti-crime campaign," he added.

Conde emphasized that the proposes measure, if approved and implemented, would only worsen the plight of Filipino minors who have been caught up in the country's justice system.

"The law’s impact would be punitive: children from 14 to 9 who commit serious crimes such as murder, illegal detention, or carnapping, or violate the country’s draconian drug laws can be sentenced to mandatory confinement of up to 12 years," Conde said.

He cited what was stated by the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child that under juvenile justice, the age of criminal responsibility should be at least 14 years old.

The justice panel of the House of Representatives approved the motion of Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro to approve the substitute bill to House Bills 2, 505, 935, 1609, 2009 and 3973—all seeking a lower age of criminal responsibility.

Under the proposed measure, a child nine years old and below at the time of the commission of offense would be exempted from criminal liability, while those above nine years old but under 18 years old would be exempted from criminal liability unless the minor acted with discernment.

Some senators already opposed the proposal, saying that the issue should be carefully discussed as the age of nine seems to be "too young" for criminal liability.

But according to Oriental Mindoro Representative Salvador "Doy" Leachon, who chairs the justice panel, the proposal was actually "pro-child" as he ensured that child offenders will not be put in ordinary jails with prisoners. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KBK, GMA News