Catholic bishops oppose lowering age of criminal liability

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is opposing proposals to lower the age of criminal liability to nine years old, a statement released by its president said Tuesday.

CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas appealed to lawmakers to “keep intact the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, especially as regards the age of criminal liability.”

“The sins and failings of young and immaturity should not mar the possibilities of one’s future nor stand forever in the name of an honorable and noble reputation that well can, in later years, very well build,” Villegas said, after a three-day plenary assembly over the weekend attended by the country’s Catholic bishops.

Instead of lowering the age of criminal liability, the CBCP said parents and guardians should be more vigilant in protecting their children from criminals who exploit the youth in committing crimes.

“The correct response, we believe, is vigilance on the part of parents and stiffer penalties for those who exploit the young in the perpetration of crime,” Villegas said.

Apart from the age of criminal liability, the bishops tackled Church issues and socio-political concerns that included the re-imposition of the death penalty for heinous crimes, the government’s war on illegal drugs, the spate of extrajudicial killings, and the proliferation of trolls and fake news on social media.

On Monday evening, the CBCP through Villegas issued a statement expressing their firm opposition to the proposal to reinstate capital punishment for heinous crimes.

Lawmakers, including House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, are proposing the lowering of the age of criminal liability from the current 15 years old to nine years old.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Commission on Human Rights have rejected the proposal, branding it as anti-poor and ineffective in curbing crime.

For its part, the CBCP noted that the purpose of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act was “laudable and its present provisions, beneficial.”

But, “the fact that criminal elements make use youngsters up to fifteen years old to commit crimes is no argument against the present benevolent provisions of the law, but about the resoluteness of criminals in using even the young for their purposes,” Villegas added. CBB/rga