Tuesday, November 27, 2007 Council asks Domogan to champion juvenile law changes
IN THE heels of growing incidence of gang-related crimes involving mostly high school kids, the Baguio City Council rallied for immediate amendments to the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act or Republic Act 9344.
Proponent-Councilor Nicasio Aliping Jr. said the council backed the return to the state of affairs prior to the passage of RA 9344 through Baguio Representative Mauricio Domogan in Congress.
Before RA 9344 was approved, children over nine but under 15 years of age could be held liable if found by the courts to have acted with discernment.
However, their liability is suspended and they are committed to a children's institution until they reach the age of emancipation, which is 18.
The city officials and some officers of the court, as the source of the worsening crime situation in the city involving minors, have vilified RA 9344.
The new law provides that kids 15 years of age and under at the time of the commission of a crime are generally exempt from criminal liabilities.
But Aliping opined, "There is a need to lower the age of criminal exemption, from 15 to 10 years of age and below."
"The exemption to minors under 15 could also be cited as a defense, which is unfair to innocent victims," he added. "The principle of exclusion which has been applied to children in conflict with law (CICL) in the age 15 and under category allows CICLs to walk because they are generally viewed to have acted without discernment."
Earlier, Vice Mayor Daniel Fariñas said "our only chance to save our city's kids from creeping self-destruction is to have RA 9344 amended to protect our innocent kids and our community from our own kids in conflict with law."
He explained that while the statue intends to increase the protection of children in conflict with the law, it deviously encouraged kids to commit crimes instead.
RA 9344 is a virtual reproduction of Western-style juvenile laws. The passage of the law, which received as much praises as criticisms, apparently sought to amend purely retributive response to crimes committed by minors.
Authors of the new law said the restorative approach considers the three aspects of accountability, community safety and competency development in all levels and states of the proposed juvenile justice system.
But Fariñas said "the upsurge of reported crimes involving children and the means they employ to commit crimes which have notably been bolder leaves us with only one logical conclusion: the application of Western-based laws is definitely inapplicable to our cultural backdrop."
"As a result, our local police are grasping for ways to address the worsening situation without placing themselves in jeopardy for violating certain rights the statute extended juvenile delinquents," he added. "What will happen if they killed somebody and they cannot be held accountable for it... will they just be allowed to walk away knowing that they could do the same act or omission with the same results?"
He added that national legislators should understand that kids now are totally different compared to children 10 years ago. He explained that with the current advances in technology, the ways children think now are far advanced than before.
"In fact, children cannot be punished if the law imposed upon them does not punish adults for a certain act or omission... and most of them know that," Fariñas said. "Employing punishment for parental disobedience is likewise made an offense committed by parents against their kids so far as the statute is concerned. Thus, kids can even sue their parents for imposing discipline."
Aliping said, "the exemption will be ground for criminals or terrorists to exploit minors, shepherding kids to become criminals and terrorists themselves." (Isagani Liporada)
