RA 9344 as amended by RA 10630: Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility is 17 not 15

There are 98. 39 million people in the Philippines and 53 million are minors according to a survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO). Thus, there is 54.3 % youth dependency. Youth is an intermediary phase which signifies the time between childhood and adulthood. Adulthood as defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary, it means that the person already attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible whereas childhood is the complete contrast of adulthood because what childhood connotes is being young, below the age of majority (18), naive, not capable of discernment, and dependent.

If the youth population covers more than 50% then it simply means that more laws should be enacted to protect the young and innocent. Why is that so? Jose Rizal, Philippine national hero, acknowledges the role of the youth as the hope of the future. If the child’s rearing in his childhood is bad wherein he was neglected or abused then expect a thwarted future for him. Logic then tells us that if those 50 % minors whose future were already thwarted then they cannot contribute to the growth of our nation. Without that growth, what will happen to all of us? Our country will suffer and lose everything. This is why RA 9344 as amended by RA 10630 was enacted.

RA 9344 otherwise known as Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 as amended by RA 10630 was enacted to protect the rights of the child especially those that are in conflict with the law. Under the revised penal code, a child can only be exempted from criminal responsibility if he is under the age of 9 yet it was modified to 15 or under 15 years old by sec. 6 of RA 9344. The rationale behind the modification is that criminalizing younger children is not the answer to the root causes of juvenile delinquency. Yet a lot of people including some of the authorities want to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility because of the rampant surge of crimes involving children. They keep pushing the idea that drug lords and other people with criminal minds use these innocent children as leverage because they will not be penalized due to the exemption afforded to them by the law. This however is not even supported by statistics.

If the authorities will succumb into the idea of lowering the minimum age of minority then that is tantamount to bending the laws and international principles. The proposed age is 13, a very heart crushing proposal. 13 years old, what does he know about life? Does he have any idea how big the world is? How the people do works in their own arena? How some people are dishonest, conceited, loathsome, horrid, appalling and beastly? None, I presume. A 13 year old should be out there enjoying life, and appreciating the love and care given to him. Money is not an element of love so the parents and the people surrounding an innocent child should give it unconditionally because if not, this is where trouble comes in.

According to psychological research, a child exposed to abuse from his parents, friends, and environment will tend to think that it is a social norm to just beat someone else over his mistake. Neglected child too thinks that nobody cares about him so there are tendencies of committing acts which is not in accordance with law just to get the attention of his love ones. Furthermore, studies show that children who are in conflict with laws came from poor and dysfunctional families.

A child in conflict with law will not alter the fact that he is still a child that needs support, love, care, and not capable of discernment. Lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility will not address the root causes of juvenile delinquency and putting them in juvenile detention does not help either instead according to Richard Tremblay "by having them live together, they form relationships. It's more likely to increase the problem" because it they are expose to a wrong crowd. Also, you corrupt the supposed growth of the child. Criminalizing him will not make him mature according to Department of Social Welfare Development. 

It is a well settled principle that a minor, below 18, is not capable of discernment thus how much more for a 13 year old or for a 15 year old? Ergo, the minimum age of criminal responsibility should be 17.