Robin Padilla files bill to lower age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old

The amendment states that those who are aged 10 but still below 18 and are believed to have committed a crime will be put in a 24-hour child-caring institution. However, those who have been charged with committing a heinous crime will not be exempt from criminal liability.

According to RA 7659, heinous crimes are defined as "grievous, odious and hateful offenses and which, by reason of their inherent or manifest wickedness, viciousness, atrocity and perversity are repugnant and outrageous to the common standards and norms of decency and morality in a just, civilized and ordered society."

These include treason, piracy and mutiny, parricide, murder, infanticide, kidnapping, robbery, destructive arson, rape, drug trafficking, to name a few.

If Padilla's measure is passed, those who are 15 years old and below will no longer go through a community-based intervention program if they commit a heinous crime and will instead face criminal prosecution.

For non-heinous crimes, minors would still be subjected to interventions led by social welfare officers.

In his explanatory note, Padilla asserted that "children are more exposed to modern sensibilities and are more predisposed to risk-taking behaviors, as evidenced by the growing number of youth offenders in the country."

"While we make it clear that our thrust is to ensure that youth offenders are dealt with through the lens of restorative and not punitive justice, we must guarantee that the integrity of our justice system remains and that we do not condone a more precarious state of abuse towards our children," he added.

What does the public say?

Advocacy group Child Rights Network strongly opposed the bill and stressed that children in conflict with the law are held accountable under the Juvenile Justice Law.

"Wala na tayo dapat sa debate ng edad. Ang totoong problema natin ay kung paano ipatutupad nang maayos ang batas at kung paano susuportahan ang mga programa nito gaya ng community-based intervention (para sa minor offenses) at rehabilitasyon sa Bahay Pag-Asa (para sa mga seryosong krimen at paulit-ulit na minor offenses)," the group said in a statement.

"Children are not little adults. To make children as young as 10 criminally liable means tagging them as criminals—which they will imbibe as their identity—and exposing them to an already broken adult criminal justice system, which studies have shown to make children graduate to more serious crimes instead of being reformed or rehabilitated," they added.

The group implored Padilla to "be a champion of second chances for children, not a lawmaker who will further condemn them to a negative life path," noting how he was a former person deprived of liberty.

Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima similarly voiced out her opposition to the proposed amendment as lowering the age of criminal responsibility is "not justice" and is a "failure of imagination, of compassion, and of government."

"Hindi kriminal ang bata. Ang batang naligaw ay hindi dapat kinukulong kundi kinakausap, inaaruga, at binibigyan ng pag-asa," she said. "This bill does not address crime. It punishes trauma. It does not protect society. It betrays children we have already failed."

"As a former Secretary of Justice, I have seen what jails do to children. And I have seen what care, education, and structured rehabilitation can achieve. The difference is life-changing. Sometimes, life-saving. Kung ang sagot natin sa batang nadapa ay kulungan, hindi ang bata ang tunay na dapat usigin kundi ang sistemang wala nang malasakit," she continued.

Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno, meanwhile, called for the need to fund rehabilitation programs instead.

"Kapag may sala, dapat may pananagutan—totoo ’yan. Pero hindi totoo na basta-basta pinapalaya ang mga bata dahil sa Juvenile Justice Law. Sa ilalim ng batas, may Bahay Pag-Asa para sa kanilang rehabilitasyon. Ang kailangan natin—hindi pag-amyenda sa batas—kundi dagdag na pondo at suporta para sa programang ito," he said in a post.

"Mukhang ang gusto ni Sen. Padilla ay isang lipunang marahas at walang malasakit. Pero kung talagang gusto nating solusyunan ang krimen, ayusin natin ang mga sirang tahanan, sirang paaralan, at sirang sistema. Piliin nating maging lipunang may pagkalinga at pag-asa," he added.

Others, however, expressed their support for Padilla's bill. One social media echoed the senator's reason for the proposal in that children are "more exposed to media, violence, and even criminal influences at a young age" and that some are even used by adults to commit crimes.

"Lowering the age will help send a message that there are consequences for serious actions, even for minors. However, I also believe that rehabilitation, education, and psychological help must go hand-in-hand with punishment. We need to make sure young offenders are given a chance to change, not just locked up," they commented.

On July 21, Padilla said he agrees with sentiments that say children are not criminals, but said that those who commit a crime should not be considered a child.

"Accountability starts at a young age to build strong and responsible youth," he wrote.

Several users sided with the senator. "Kung kaya na niyang gumawa ng krimeng hindi kayang lunukin ng konsensya, dapat lang na maramdaman niya ang mabigat na pananagutan... Ang pagiging menor de edad ay hindi dapat maging sandata para takasan ang batas."

In 2018, Sen. Tito Sotto filed a similar bill lowering the age of criminal liability to 13 years old. Meanwhile, a House of Representatives measure sought to make the minimum age of criminal responsibility 9 years old in 2016.