By SHERWIN DE VERA
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — As the House of Representatives Committee on Justice approved the draft of the proposed legislation to lower the age for criminal liability Monday, Jan. 21, more groups advocating children and youth welfare in Northern Luzon expressed condemnation and calls on the government to pursue cases and jail corrupt officials and violators of human rights instead.

“So, we cannot understand why these politicians are insisting on lowering the age of criminal liability to nine years old,” said Cynthia Dacanay, executive director of Cordillera Women’s Education and Action Research Center (CWEARC), in a text message.

She explained that 18 years old is designated and universally accepted age of adulthood because this is the period that a person can better discern, has relatively developed their sense of responsibility and rationality.

“Besides those in authority are never the good examples and don’t have the morale ascendancy. Look at the highest officials of our land. Aren’t they the ones committing criminal acts?” Dacanay added.

Youth groups’ opposition

Meanwhile, progressive youth groups are also up-in-arms against the measure.

“We do not want the likes of a nine year old child to be jailed. Instead of lowering the age, the state should focus on jailing true criminals like big drug lords and plunderers that destroy the future and innocence of our children like Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Imelda Marcos, and human rights violations perpetrators,” said Jennybeth Mariano, secretary general of Anakbayan Ilocos.

She called the move “absurd” and “dangerous” pointing to possible exploitation of the government to boost its counter-insurgency propaganda.

Mariano cited the case of 19 youth from Galimuyod and Candon City in Ilocos Sur who were presented by the 81st Infantry Battalion as surrenderees from the underground youth group Kabataang Makabayan. Among those presented to the media and officials were three minors the youngest of who is 11 years old.

“Based on the documentation made by human rights advocates, the military invited them to a gathering then without their consent and called their names to be presented as surrenderees,” she said.

Kabataan Partylist Cordillera coordinator Christian Dave Ruz told Nordis they consider both the proposal and those advocating to criminalize kids as young as nine as “completely insane and delusional.”

He pointed out that jailing children will not contribute to nation-building nor will it translate to lower crime figures.

“Do we really think that any child, our innocent pag-asa ng bayan, deserve to be jailed than to be rescued from this violent, impoverished and harsh society?” raised Ruiz.

Avoiding responsibility

In their statements, the groups view the move as a systematic effort of the government to avoid its responsibility to address the conditions that pushes children to crime and to provide.

Dacanay of CWEARC said those pushing for the measure should be the ones held liable for failing to address the social causes that influence or force children to commit crime.

She added that all the years that most lawmakers and dynasties have spent sitting in power, they have failed to resolve the prevailing impoverishment of majority of the people.

For Ruz, the measure is proof of “how desperate our government and its ruling powers to escape and abandon its role to resolve the socio-economic roots of criminality and anti-social activities in our country.”

They also underscored that instead of penalizing kids, Congress should put more funds to provide adequate and appropriate facilities and manpower to respond to cases of children in conflict with the law. # nordis.net