Robin seeks to drop criminal liability age to 10

As crimes committed by minors pile up in recent months, Sen. Robinhood Padilla is proposing to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old for young people who commit heinous crimes, saying that rehabilitating them through the government’s Bahay Pag-Asa is futile.

The lawmaker, who admitted that at 10 years old he had already committed a crime, believes it is about time to review the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, or Republic Act 9344.

“I am deeply disturbed by the behavior of minors in recent times. I am referring to the involvement of children in illegal activities ranging from what are considered petty crimes on the streets to heinous crimes,” Padilla said in Filipino during a privilege speech on Wednesday.

Padilla cited the case of a rape victim last year in San Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte, in which the perpetrator was a minor.

“My heart is being pounded with the story of the victim's parents, who, after filming the rape, were killed by a group of young men. Their shamelessness towards their victim did not end there. Because one of the suspects worked as a matador, he even deliberately slaughtered him like meat and ate his internal organs,” he lamented.

He also questioned why the Philippines abolished Boys Town, which previously took care of juvenile delinquents. Currently, minors in conflict with the law are reformed through Bahay Pag-Asa facilities.

“Mayroon talagang mga taong may utak-kriminal. Base yan sa aking sariling experience. Kung hindi ako nakulong at dinaan lang sa counselling, kriminal pa rin siguro ako hanggang ngayon at hindi naging Senador. At dahil dinanas ko ang baho at sikip ng kulungan, nagbago ako. Kapag naranasan yan ng isang tao, wala kang gagawin kundi magbago,” Padilla said.

He added that it is not impossible for young people today to already have “criminal minds.”

“We can also perhaps rely on studies that say failing to address criminal behavior in children can result in repeat offenses and, even more dangerously, a desire to commit more serious law violations. As they learn they are not accountable to the law, they may think their actions have no real consequences,” he said.

Padilla cited a 2019 Philippine National Police report stating that more than 12,000 minors were involved in heinous crimes since 2016, with rape and illegal drugs topping the cases.

The senator has filed Senate Bill No. 372, which seeks to lower the age of criminal responsibility for young people who commit heinous crimes such as parricide, murder, rape, kidnapping with killing or rape, robbery with homicide or rape, destructive arson, and serious violations under the anti-drug law.

“If it's difficult to talk about it, it's even more difficult to hear the cries of the victims and their families who are still seeking justice. We are not promoting the violation of youth rights, but we can no longer turn a blind eye to the fact that there are young people capable of planning and committing horrific crimes,” Padilla said.

Bahay Pag-Asa is a 24-hour child care institution established, funded, and managed by one local government unit and two DSWD-licensed and/or accredited non-government organizations. The facility provides short-term residential care for children in conflict with the law who are above 15 and below 18 years old — waiting for court disposition of their cases or transfer to other agencies or jurisdictions.

It also offers intensive intervention to children who have committed serious offenses or repeated violations but are not criminally liable because they are 15 years old and below.

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Sen. Robinhood Padilla has filed a bill seeking to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 10 for minors who commit heinous crimes, citing a rise in violent offenses involving children.