While Duterte wanted the age threshold dropped to 12, his allies went one step further by calling for it to be lowered to nine. Rights organisations launched a campaign called #ChildrenNotCriminals to urge lawmakers to reconsider their support for the law. One of the groups, Plan International, told AFP that children on the wrong side of the law were often victims of criminal gangs. "We cannot hold children to the same standard as we hold adult offenders," Melanie Llana of the Philippine Action for Youth Offenders told AFP. "Are we really going to jail 9-year-olds who we know are not fully mature?"

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 21, 2016 10:34 UTC