CONGRESS has the final say on whether to lower the age of criminal liability or not amid growing and strong opposition to let children as young as nine years old be punished by law, said MalacaƱang Tuesday, January 22.
Speaking to Palace reporters, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte will leave to the legislative branch the fate of lowering the age of criminal liability from the current 15 years old to the proposed nine years old.
"With respect to that, all he has been saying since the campaign is he wants that lower. And we will leave that to the lawmakers," the Palace official said.
"Again, the President will not interfere because that's the lawmakers' job. We will not question that. Bahala sila. Basta ang gusto ng Presidente, ayaw niya ng 15 definitely (It's up to them. The President only wants to lower the minimum age of criminal liability. Definitely, he doesn't not want it to be 15 years old)," he added.
The House justice panel approved the proposed on Monday, January 21, a measure lowering the age of criminal liability to nine years old.
Duterte has repeatedly said that he wants amendments to the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which exempts 15 years old and below from imprisonment or other punishment.
The President has specifically sought to make children younger than 15 years old criminally liable, stressing that the current law protecting youth offenders from criminal prosecution was creating a "state of terrible situation."
Compared to the House bill, a version of the Senate aims to lower the minimum age of criminal liability to 12 years old.
On January 21, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) expressed "strong" opposition to the measure punishing children who will be found violating the law.
The CHR said the government should instead focus on addressing conditions that push children to commit crimes, rather than "placing the burden on a child for the failures of institutions meant to protect them."
For United Nations (UN) special rapporteur Agnes Callamard, the proposal to lower the age of criminal liability was "dangerous and potentially deadly."
Panelo merely shrugged off Calamard's remarks and slammed the UN envoy for allegedly meddling in the country's domestic issues.
"That is shameful when she intrudes into the sovereignty of this country. She has no business interfering with the affairs of Congress in the first place or with the executive," he said.
"Ang problema ang pinakikinggan lang nila yung napapakinggan nila sa oposisyon eh. Parang hindi sila objective Problem is they only listen to the opposition. They're not objective)... Pag-aralan (They should first study), let them read the... I'm not defending Congress. What I'm saying is before you open your mouth, you better know your facts," he added. (SunStar Philippines)