The argument, therefore, that lowering the age of criminal responsibility, would be advantageous to the children involved in criminal acts, fails to convince. The report noted that this was contrary to perceptions that crimes committed by children increased after the passage of RA 9344. It was also reported that the highest number of crimes were committed by children aged 16 to 17, which is above the minimum age for criminal responsibility. Research also supports the argument that children in conflict with the law are often products of dysfunctional families. Section 20 of RA 9344 already provides sufficient remedies to address the problem of children who are in conflict with the law.

Source: Manila Times October 03, 2018 16:41 UTC