Tolentino backs lowering age of criminal liability

Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino has expressed support for proposals to lower the minimum age of criminal liability following the deadly school shooting in Tacloban City.

Tolentino, a lawyer and former senator, said children today are exposed to violent content on social media at an unprecedented level, a factor that policymakers should consider when discussing criminal responsibility among minors.

He stressed the need to balance accountability with measures that protect and guide young people.

"The Philippines is a signatory to the International Convention on Rights of Children. We have a lot of reservations in the international community that this is how it should be, because what we are discussing here is the age of discernment, when the child is able to think about what is right and wrong," Tolentino said in an ambush interview in Taguig City on Wednesday.

"When all the laws were made, including the International Convention and our existing laws, there was no strong social media," he added.

Tolentino also voiced support for restricting children's access to social media, citing its potential negative effects.

"Now, with the influence of social media, even a small child can see the violence. So maybe it is right to put it down, with the influence of social media. I also agree that social media should be prohibited for children, just like what Australia and Sweden did," he said.

However, he emphasized that any such proposal should be carefully studied to avoid legal complications.

"That should also be studied. I just don't know what our government will do, because we are issuing employment permits, especially for children. For example, if a child is an artist, before you become an artist, you need an employment permit," the Labor chief said.

"I just don't know how the employment permit will be issued to social media content creators, because if what you are talking about is what happened in Tacloban, they have their own content. We need to investigate if they were influenced by that. So if you ask me if I agree, I agree [on the proposal to lower the criminal liability]," he added.

Authorities earlier disclosed that one of the two suspects in the Tacloban school shooting was an avid player of the online game GoreBox, which is known for its graphic depictions of violence.

At least three students were killed and 20 others were injured when two minors, aged 15 and 14, opened fire inside San Jose National High School in Tacloban City.