Topic:

LOWERING THE AGE OF CRIMINAL

LIABILITY FROM 15 YEARS TO NINE YEARS OLD

(House Bill. 505)

I. Introduction

Criminal cases are getting worst, From Rape cases, to killings and etc. It’s very
alarming to know that youths who spend their time playing on the streets and who
supposed to be the hope of our nation will be the ones that are doing criminal acts.
They can’t be imprisoned if they are 18 years old and below. But now things are so
different from before, Youths abused this exemption in still doing crimes.

The justice committee of the House of Representatives approved a bill proposing

to lower the age of criminal liability from 15 to nine. "This bill was brought about by the
alarming increase in the number of criminal syndicates using minors to carry out
criminal acts based on recent news reports, " House justice committee chairman Doy
Leachon said in a statement defending the proposal.

Leachon told reporters children would not be imprisoned, but would instead
undergo "rehabilitation, reformation and confinement" in reformative institutions

II. Counter Argument

A proposal to lower the age of criminal liability in the Philippines to nine years
has come under fire from human rights groups and legislators who warned the move
could harm rather than protect children.

Detaining children will not teach them accountability for their actions. The first
and foremost proof experts cite is backed by decades of scientific research: children are
still developing their decision-making capacity and therefore do not know how to fully
discern by themselves yet.
 In order to maximize their potential to contribute to nation-building, children must
grow up in a caring, nurturing and protective environment. This requires strong
parenting support programs and access to health, education and social services as well
as to child-sensitive justice and social welfare systems.

UNICEF is deeply concerned about ongoing efforts in Congress to lower the

minimum age of criminal responsibility in the Philippines below 15 years of age. The
proposed lowering vary from 9 and 12 years, and goes against the letter and spirit of
child rights.

There is a lack of evidence and data that children are responsible for the increase in
crime rates committed in the Philippines. Lowering the age of criminal responsibility will
not deter adult offenders from abusing children to commit crimes.

UNICEF supports the Philippine government, as a signatory to the United Nations

Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), to ensure that children grow up in a
safe environment protected from crime and violence.

III. Argument

According to news reports dispatched by The Washington Post last year,

President Duterte “pitched the move of lowering the age of criminal liability to stop a
generation of criminals in its tracks.” The Washington Post irresponsibly left out that the
pitch might also be a move to stop a generation of youths from being educated. We do
not need more education, that is not the solution to climbing out of the status quo;
education, in the long run, would prove to be detrimental to our identity as citizens of a
third world nation. It is also short-sighted for human rights groups to state that nine-
year-olds confined in jails or rehabilitation centers with hardened criminals and
delinquents would just educate them more as criminals. As if criminals were teachers. I
mean, let’s see that degree, Jean Valjean. And President Duterte is as forward a thinker
as they get. Pitching the move of lowering the age of criminal liability to stop a
generation of criminals in its tracks would be the best thing to do for the Filipino youth of
today. We say jail them now so they can be cured of their early crookedness, and won’t
grow up as crooks. We have enough of them in Congress.
IV. Conclusion

ANS-CBN News. (2019 January 21).

[House panel approves bill seeking to lower age of criminal liability to 9]
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/21/19/house-panel-approves-bill-seeking-to-lower-
age-of-criminal-liability-to-9

UNICEF. (2019 January 18).

[Lowering the age of criminal responsibility is against child rights: UNICEF:]
https://www.unicef.org/philippines/press-releases/lowering-age-criminal-responsibility-against-
child-rights-unicef

ABS-CBN News. (201 January 23)

[Why it’s perfectly OK to lower the age of criminal liability to nine years old]
https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/09/12/19/once-a-symbol-of-our-nation-the-rizal-
memorial-sports-complex-is-set-to-regain-its-past-glory