No to lower age of criminal liability, yes to rehab – Marcos Jr.

Former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential contender Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would rather introduce rehabilitation programs for underage offenders rather than lower the age of criminal liability.

“The reason is that if you’re not in the age of majority, the view is you cannot make those judgments because you’re still too young, not fully mature. I don’t think you can change that,” Marcos said, speaking in a mix of Filipino and English, during an online press conference he conducted on Tuesday from Cagayan de Oro.

According to the former senator, the government can instead build correctional facilities or rehabilitation centers for underage criminal offenders.

“That I think is probably the best solution for us because you really can’t tell [what will happen] if you take them out and jail someone who’s 12 years old. They’re still not aware. They’re still not mature. So you have to still follow the idea in law that those who are minors, they have a different situation,” Marcos said.

The government would have to find an alternative system, especially in cases when gangs use minors to commit crimes, taking advantage of the fact they minors can’t be held criminally liable, he said.

“But that is something we have to study properly — because we have to find solutions, because it’s not something we only see in the Philippines,” he said.

Under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, which was enacted in May 2006, the minimum age of criminal liability is 15 years old.

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