De Lima opposes bid to lower age of criminal liability

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima does not like the idea of lowering the age of people who can be held criminally liable despite the recent involvement of younger children in street crimes. In a speech she delivered during a forum in observance of the National Children's Month on Friday, De Lima reminded the public that children are not to blame if they end up committing criminal acts. "Lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility is not the solution to the problems of juvenile offending," said De Lima, in reaction to proposals to suspend or amend Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which mandates that offenders 15 years old and below be exempted from criminal liability. "I hope that we have not conveniently forgotten we are also responsible for pushing them to commit offenses," she added. De Lima said parents, schools, society, and even mass media "have much to answer why children come into conflict with the law." "These children are victims of circumstances beyond their control; of chronic poverty and alarming culture of violence, rampant in a child's home, school and community," she said. De Lima urged the media to exercise the "highest critical and professional standards" when reporting about children engaged in criminal acts. A staunch human rights advocate herself – being a former Commission on Human Rights chairman – De Lima said sending children 15 years old or younger to prison could be a violation of their rights. De Lima said there are other ways of correcting the ways of children engaged in crimes but are exempted from criminal liability. "[These children] are not entirely or absolutely free of accountability. But a different or special justice system for them is prescribed by law," said De Lima, citing "restorative" means like intervention programs based on the children's needs and family background. Calls to lower the age of criminal responsibility were made amid recent reports highlighting children engaged in petty street crimes – some of which were even caught on government surveillance cameras. Some of the videos show children stealing car parts from vehicles stuck in traffic. Other young criminals, like the so-called mga "Batang Hamog," prey on motorists by opening unlocked doors and robbing the drivers and passengers by snatching the valuables from their victims. Sen. Francis Escudero has earlier said the Senate justice committee would be recommending the suspension of the Juvenile Justice law. Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III and Senator Panfilo Lacson have already expressed support for Escudero's suggestion. Problem in implementation De Lima acknowledged that the problem in the law does not lie in the provisions contained in them, but in its implementation. "When children commit a wrong act, this should not be the time to suspend of amend the law but to subject it to its full implementation so children are given the chance to correct their ways and become useful members of the society," she said. "We must cast off the simplistic thinking that putting children in jail will solve our problems. It won't, not unless our [Utopian] dream involves a future generation that was 'weaned' and 'educated' from inside penitentiaries," De Lima stressed. Apart from De Lima, other government officials who opposed the idea of lowering the age requirement included Sen. Francis Pangilinan, Social Welfare Sec. Corazon Soliman. International organization "Save the Children" also thumbed down the proposal, saying doing such was like "stepping backward." President Benigno Aquino III has yet to make public his stand on the issue. — LBG, GMA News