Pangilinan opposes renewed push to lower age of criminal liability

MANILA – Senator Francis Pangilinan on Tuesday pushed back against renewed calls to lower the age of criminal liability following the fatal school shooting in Tacloban City.

Speaking in a Facebook Live discussion with Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) Executive Director Tricia Clare Oco, Pangilinan said lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old would fail to address the root causes that drive children into conflict with the law.

“Rather than amend the law, it’s to strengthen the enforcement of the law,” he said.

READ: Security audit of all Cebu City schools ordered after Tacloban shooting

He said the stricter implementation of existing laws and stronger family and community support systems would be more effective in preventing youth crime.

Oco echoed the senator’s position, saying research points to family dysfunction, peer pressure, community conditions, and poverty—not the age threshold in the law—as major drivers of juvenile offenses.

“Ang causes talaga, yung drivers ng violence, hindi yun dahil alam ng bata yung batas. Dapat tingnan din natin talaga yung real causes kung bakit nila ginagawa ito kasi it’s not about the minimum age (The drivers of violence are not because children know the law. We should really examine the real causes behind these acts because it is not about the minimum age),” she said.

READ: Tacloban shooting: Slain student who shielded peers hailed a hero

The discussion came amid public outrage over the Tacloban shooting, which left three students dead and several others injured, and renewed debate over the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

Oco said the law’s restorative justice framework has produced positive outcomes for many young offenders who were given a chance to reform instead of being incarcerated alongside hardened criminals.

“Marami po tayong success stories, sir, ng mga bata na napariwara sila, hindi ganito yung krimen na nagawa nila. At dahil sa batas, ngayon ang ayos na ng buhay nila (We have many success stories of children who went astray, though not for crimes like this, and because of the law, their lives have improved),” she said.

Pangilinan said the law should not be judged solely on exceptional cases, stressing that many beneficiaries have become productive members of society after undergoing rehabilitation programs.

The senator and the JJWC chief also reiterated that minors involved in serious offenses can still be held accountable under existing laws through criminal prosecution, involuntary confinement, and court-ordered rehabilitation, depending on their age and level of discernment.

READ: School shooting sparks talks on tighter social media use for minors

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri backed proposals to restrict children’s access to social media following the fatal school shooting in Tacloban City, saying violent content and hateful behavior online could influence young minds.

“This tragedy should push us to confront a hard truth: matindi na ang influence ng social media sa mga bata (the influence of social media on children has become very strong),” Zubiri said.

He cited the pending Social Media Safety for Children Act, which seeks to prohibit children below 16 from maintaining social media accounts, and called for a review of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act to study whether minors as young as 14 who commit heinous crimes should be tried as adults. (PNA)

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