The justice committee at the House of Representatives approved on Monday, January 21, the bill seeking to lower criminal liability from 15 years old to nine years old.
The bill, House Bill No. 505 filed by Tarlac 2nd District Rep. Victor Yap, was approved during the panel’s executive session.
The bill states that only those below ten years old during the commission of the crime will be exempted from any criminal liability. Meanwhile, those age ten to 18 will be exempted from any criminal liability if proven to be conscious of the commission of the crime.
House panel chair Oriental Mindoro Representative Salvador Leachon said that children with violations of the law will not be called criminals but children in conflict with the law.
In 2017, President Rodrigo Duterte called on Congress to lower the age of criminal liability “to ensure that the Filipino youth would accept responsibility for their actions and be subjected to government intervention programs.”
“The current Congress gives utmost importance to legislative measures that ensure the safety of our future generation. The Committee recognizes that the youth is an integral part of nation-building and the State must ensure and preserve their over-all wellbeing,” Leachon said.
