House lowers minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old on second reading

January 23, 2019

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading a proposed law lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15  to 12 years old.

This was  big shift from the earlier decision of the House justice committee to lower the minimum age to nine years old.

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Doy Leachon, chairman of the House committee on justice, said this was the consensus of the majority of his colleagues.

‘That is the consensus when I talked to the members. They have reservations because nine years old  is too young,” said Leachon.

Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said her full backing for the passage of this measure is in support of President Rodrigo Duterte’s priority agenda.

‘’Because the President wants it,” Arroyo told reporters in an ambush interview after attending the hearing of the House committee on transportation on the status of the Roll-On-Roll-Off (RORO) projects.

“From the beginning, my agenda is the President’s agenda,” said Arroyo.

Leachon said the measure would not detain children and they will not be mixed with hardened criminals.

The measure will impose maximum six months imprisonment against children’s parents who will not undergo the mandatory intervention program.

He said the parents of the children who are in conflict with the law will be detained for a minimum 30 days and maximum of six months if they would not “undergo intervention” program to be supervised by LGUs  like parenting seminars and counseling. DMS