Tacloban school shooting spurs call to review juvenile justice law – solon

MANILA, Philippines — The school shooting in Leyte should trigger an “urgent and thorough” review of the law prescribing the minimum age of criminal responsibility, Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. said on Tuesday.

In a statement, he said while the 2006 Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act was crafted with the “noblest of intentions,” its protections for young offenders should not extend to those who deliberately commit crimes.

“A protection designed for the vulnerable must never become a sanctuary for the calculating,” Garbin said.

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“Increasingly, we are witnessing a disturbing phenomenon where minors who possess full mental faculty and complete discernment of the wrongfulness of their acts, yet who wield their minority not as a shield of innocence, but as a shield against justice,” he noted.

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The 2006 law exempts from any criminal liability children aged 15 and below at the time the offense was committed.

Those aged 15 to 18, while also exempt, may be held criminally liable if found they acted with discernment, capable of distinguishing right from wrong.

READ: Juvenile Justice Law: What many Filipinos often misunderstand

Two students, aged 14 and 15, opened fire at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte on Monday, killing at least three students and leaving 20 others injured.

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He said the law should be “revisited,” and if the review shows evidence that it needs to be tweaked and there is public clamor for the measure to lower the age of coverage, then it should be amended.

“Our law already recognizes the doctrine of discernment for those above fifteen and below eighteen years of age,” Garbin said.

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“What I am calling for is that this doctrine be given real and meaningful force, that where a minor acts with full discernment and full appreciation of the gravity of his crime, accountability must follow in proportion to that discernment, and not be evaded simply by invocation of age,” he explained.

“Authorities should also impose tougher penalties on firearm owners whose negligence allows guns to fall into the hands of those who use them to commit crimes,” Garbin also said.

“I propose that we treat the negligent firearm owner much as our law already treats the registered owner of a motor vehicle,” he recommended.

“Under the well-settled registered-owner rule, the registered owner of a vehicle is held civilly liable for the damage it causes to another, even where he himself was not behind the wheel, subject, of course, to recognized exemptions,” he added. /apl

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