Alvarez tells critics of juvenile justice law to help instead of opposing

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Wednesday slammed critics of the bill lowering the age of criminal liability for being all talk but no action.

“Ang suggestion ko naman sa mga pari, obispo, na oppose nang oppose diyan, ay tumulong naman sila, (hindi ‘yung) batikos lang nang batikos. Hindi ka na nga nakakatulong sa gobyerno, dapat manahimik ka na lang,” he said in an interview over DZMM.

(My suggestion to priests and bishops is to stop opposing and help us instead.)

He told critics from the Church to just do what they are supposed to and just focus on church matters.

In July last year, Alvarez filed House Bill No. 2 with Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro that seeks to revert the minimum age of criminal liability from the current 15 years old to as young as 9 years old. The proposal was rejected in November last year.

READ: Alvarez files bill lowering age of criminal liability

Alvarez also sought stronger implementation of the juvenile justice law.
“Itong mga 15 years old, ang reklamo ng law enforcers, pag nahuli nila, magpapakita lang ng birth certificate, wala na, free na. Nasa labas, maggagawa na naman ng krimen. Ito hindi, kapag nahuli, kulong ka. Diyan ka ikukulong sa rehab center, sa DSWD,” he said.

(These 15-year-olds who were caught, according to the complaint of law enforcers, would only show their birth certificate, therefore no case, they are free to go. Then they will go back to committing crime. In the proposal, when they are caught they will be jailed. They will be locked up at the rehab center at the Department of  Social Welfare and Development.)

He said that the although the administration supports the building of rehabilitation facilities for the minors in every city for the juvenile justice law, there are no funds allocated for the project.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier expressed support for lowering the age of criminal liability from 15 to 12 years old via amendment of RA 9344.

However, the HB No.2 and Duterte’s proposal only drew backlash not only from the church but also from some of the lawmakers, as well as agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), UNICEF and other human rights groups.