A Senate panel will begin reviewing the Juvenile Justice Act (RA 9344) following widespread clamor to amend the two-decade-old law because of growing cases of violence involving minors, particularly in schools.

The Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development will look into the “glaring gaps” in the law’s implementation, its chair, Senator Erwin Tulfo, said Sunday.

The congressional review follows a spate of school-based violence involving minors, including the 22 June fatal shooting in Tacloban City and stabbing incidents in Negros Occidental and Cavite.

The suspects in the Tacloban shooting, aged 14 and 15, are enrolled at the same school and are currently in the custody of social welfare officers.

The panel will revisit key provisions of the law, particularly whether the minimum age of criminal responsibility should be lowered from 15 to 10, given the recent rise in crimes and school violence involving minors.

Efforts to amend the law have been undertaken in previous Congresses but were unsuccessful because of strong opposition from human rights and children’s welfare advocates, including UNICEF.

Tulfo assured the public, however, that the latest initiative would be undertaken meticulously and in consultation with legal experts, law enforcement agencies, social welfare groups, the Church, medical professionals and parents.

Parental accountability

“We need every perspective on the table because we are not just looking at the fine print of the law — we are fixing a broken reality on the ground,” the committee chair said.

Although no hearing has yet been scheduled, the panel will examine the shortage of Bahay Pag-asa facilities, the implementation of intervention programs for children in conflict with the law and children at risk, and the enforcement of parental accountability.

Several members of the Senate minority have pushed for aggressive reforms to the law.

Among them is Sen. Robin Padilla, who wants to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 10, arguing that recent incidents underscore the need for swift government intervention to deter crimes involving minors.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has recommended that the minimum age of criminal responsibility should not be set too low and has consistently called for prioritizing rehabilitation over incarceration.

Sen. Imee Marcos, meanwhile, argued that it is time to review whether parents or guardians should also be held accountable for negligence.

‘Groomers’ tagged

Despite the recent increase in school-related violence, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council reported in November last year a significant decline in the number of children involved in crimes — from 20,000 cases in 2016, peaking at more than 26,000 in 2017, before dropping to about 4,000 by 2024.