PHL should be proud of its Juvenile Justice Law — UN

The Philippines should be proud of its Juvenile Justice Act, the United Nations said as it commemorates 30 years of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Philippines is a State party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is one of the nine core international human rights treaties. It was adopted into international law on November 20, 1989 and came into force on September 2, 1990. It lays out the protections afforded to children, which it largely defines as those under the age of 18.

In a statement on Monday, the United Nations said that the Philippines "committed to develop and implement a comprehensive juvenile justice policy" as a party to the CRC, and did so in 2006 with the passage of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act (JJWA).

However, UN agency UNICEF also earlier called for the improved implementation of the law.

"To brand children as criminals removes the responsibility and accountability from adults who have failed them. Children in conflict with the law are victims of circumstance, mostly because of poverty; and because they are not able to access a caring, nurturing and protective environment," UNICEF said.

Call to keep MACR at 15

The UN also expressed its concern about recent efforts to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) from the 15 years of age stated in the law.

Lowering the MACR to 12, the UN said, "would undermine the gains in setting up a restorative, child-sensitive system that seeks not to detain children but to reintegrate them back to society without criminalizing them.

"Retaining the MACR at 15 years would show leadership and commitment to children and put the Philippines at par with countries leading on this issue around the world."

The global organization also cited a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey in January that found that the majority of Filipinos support keeping the MACR at 15.

"Retaining the MACR would also appear to stand in unity with a majority of Filipinos who are in favor of the MACR remaining at 15," the UN said.

The Duterte administration and its allies are in favor of lowering the MACR—first to nine years of age, before settling on 12, claiming that the number of juvenile offenders is growing. Several incoming senators elected in the May elections, all Duterte allies, have also expressed support for lowering the criminal age. — BM, GMA News