DAVAO City Social Services and Development Office (CSSDO) have started discussing the viability of lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility as criminals have become younger.
An inter-agency forum with the CSSDO, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Davao City Police Office among others met Monday, October 3, to further discuss the matter.
In previous reports, some organizations protested the proposed amendment to the Republic Act 9344 of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006. From 15 years old, the criminal age will be lowered to nine years old.
Lawyer Romeo Cabarde of Ateneo Public Interest and Legal Advocacy (Apila), however, said he believed that children who committed crimes at a very young age were only victims of circumstances.
“We understand the predicament and frustration of our society when we see our children being involved in crimes and other activities that abuse and disregard the rights of others. But, we believe that children in those situation, more especially those that are deprived of the protection and care owed to them by the state, the community and their parents, are also victims of the circumstance,” Cabarde said in a conference mid-September.
Davao del Norte Representative Pantaleon Alvarez filed House Bill 002 that seeks to amend RA 9344 as amended by Republic Act 10630.
The bill is “a policy of the state to ensure that the Filipino youth shall be taught to accept responsibility for their words and deed as early as possible, and not to unduly pamper them with impunity from criminal responsibility upon reaching the age of nine years.”
Contrary to the bill, Apila does not promote impunity but instead responsibility, Cabarde said.
The inter-agency forum will be followed by a series of discussions to thoroughly examine the matter.