EXPLAINER: What happens to a youth offender under PH's Juvenile Justice Welfare law? 

The recent incidents of shooting and stabbing in several schools in the country have raised concerns, with calls from Malacañang and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to lower the criminal liability age to 12.

Under the Republic Act No. 8344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, as amended by Republic Act. No. 10630, a child of 15 years of age and below, is exempt from criminal liability but must undergo an intervention program as provided by the law.

"A child above fifteen (15) years but below eighteen (18) years of age shall likewise be exempt from criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention program, unless he/she has acted with discernment, in which case, such child shall be subjected to the appropriate proceedings in accordance with this Act,” the amended law stated.

But the exemption from criminal liability “does not include exemption from civil liability, which shall be enforced in accordance with existing laws,” it stated.

According to RA 10630, a child aged 15 and below who commits an offense cannot be jailed or charged in a regular court. Hence, the child is immediately released to the custody of their parents or guardians.

A local social worker shall also conduct an assessment and enroll the child in a community-based intervention program.

“If it has been determined that the child taken into custody is fifteen (15) years old or below, the authority which will have an initial contact with the child, in consultation with the local social welfare and development officer, has the duty to immediately release the child to the custody of his/her parents or guardian, or in the absence thereof, the child’s nearest relative,” the law stated.

“The child shall be subjected to a community-based intervention program supervised by the local social welfare and development officer, unless the best interest of the child requires the referral of the child to a youth care facility or ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ managed by LGUs or licensed and/or accredited NGOs monitored by the DSWD,” it added, but the minimum age for children committed to a youth care facility or “Bahay Pag-asa” shall be 12 years old.

However, in the instance when none of the parents or nearest relatives can be located, or if they refuse to take custody of the child, the child in conflict with the law may be released to any of the following:

• A duly registered non-governmental or religious organization
• A barangay official or a member of the Barangay Council for the Protection of Children
• A local social welfare and development officer; or, when and where appropriate, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)

Serious offenses

If a child aged 12 to 15 and below commits a heinous crime - like murder, rape, or major drug offenses - he or she is deemed a “neglected child.”

“A child who is above twelve (12) years of age up to fifteen (15) years of age and who commits parricide, murder, infanticide, kidnapping and serious illegal detention where the victim is killed or raped, robbery, with homicide or rape, destructive arson, rape, or carnapping where the driver or occupant is killed or raped or offenses under Republic Act No. 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002) punishable by more than twelve (12) years of imprisonment, shall be deemed a neglected child under Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended, and shall be mandatorily placed in a special facility within the youth care faculty or ‘Bahay Pag-asa’ called the Intensive Juvenile Intervention and Support Center (IJISC),” the RA 10630 stated.

When a child commits an offense, the local LGU social worker (or a DSWD worker, if needed) has 24 hours from receiving the report to file a petition to place the child under the IJISC. This petition must be filed in the municipality or city where the crime happened, the law added.

“The court, where the petition for involuntary commitment has been filed, shall decide on the petition within seventy-two (72) hours from the time the said petition has been filed by the DSWD/LSWDO. The court will determine the initial period of placement of the child within the IJISC, which shall not be less than one (1) year,” the law said.

Repetition of offenses

When a child aged 12 to 15 years old commits an offense again or often, after already undergoing a community-based intervention program are legally classified as "neglected."

“Provided, further, That, if the best interest of the child requires that he/she be placed in a youth care facility or ‘Bahay Pag-asa’, the child’s parents or guardians shall execute a written authorization for the voluntary commitment of the child,” the law read.

“Provided, finally, That if the child has no parents or guardians or if they refuse or fail to execute the written authorization for voluntary commitment, the proper petition for involuntary commitment shall be immediately filed by the DSWD or the LSWDO pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 603, as amended.”

According to Child Rights International Network, children can be held criminally liable as early as 7 years of age, particularly in neighboring countries like Singapore, Myanmar, and Brunei. —LDF, GMA News