MANILA, Philippines – Human rights group Karapatan vehemently opposed lowering the age of criminal liability from 15 to nine and stressed that it will “exacerbate the already dangerous situation of Filipino children.”
READ: House panel swiftly okays lower age of criminal liability
In a statement on Monday, Karapatan called on rights advocates and the public to oppose attempts to enact a House bill as well as other measures “that will have severe and irreversible repercussion on the future of Filipino children.”
The group said that the measure will “place millions of Filipino children at risk of being criminalized and stigmatized for life,” once enacted into law.
“Instead of creating an environment that will provide food, education, health and other services for children, the Duterte government fosters an increasingly hostile context for children in conflict with the law,” the group said.
“Instead of creating substantive programs, the government instead subjects children who have yet to discern what’s right and wrong to a lifetime of trauma as this proposed bill places and treats children as young as nine years old at par with adults,” they added.
Karapatan said that the said measure “conveniently neglects the context that poverty and the lack of socio-economic opportunities are the main drivers of child offenses.”
The group noted that at least 45 percent of the offenses committed by children are petty theft, robbery and other offenses against property.
Sixty-five percent of children offenders come from poor families, the group added.
Karapatan also reminded the Duterte administration of its mandate “to provide access and opportunity to children, instead of concocting measures that will scar them for life.”
“The government should not renege on its responsibility to create and foster a conducive environment for children so that they may become meaningful participants in society,” the group said./gsg