Brothers and sisters, there’s good news to all who follow the advocacy against the proposed lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 15 years old to 12. On June 9th, the 17th Congress shut down the lowering of the MACR and dismissed any changes in the provisions of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act or JJWA, the law some lawmakers wish to amend.
The “Children Not Criminals” campaign opposing the proposed lowering of the MACR started in 2016, when President Duterte assumed office. The lowering of the MACR is part of the administration’s agenda in its campaign against crime, even if the number of cases where minors are involved in crime is only 2 percent.
Many people have objected to this proposal and took a stand that this is not in the “best interest” of the children. If the MACR is lowered to 12 years old, many children would be taken to court (regardless of how serious their cases are) and placed in detention centers called Bahay Pag-Asa. If you plan to visit any of these Bahay Pag-Asa centers (or any similar institution), there’s a big chance these institutions lack personnel, facilities and programs to take good care of the children. And because of the slow process of justice, these children must endure even longer time detained in these Bahay Pag-Asa centers, rather than using this important time in school or helping their families. What would be the future of these kids if this is what will happen to them?
It is good that the proposal to lower the MACR did not pass in the 17th Congress. Even if it passed in the House of Representatives, the Senate did not have enough time to discuss it. The senators may have given this issue a lot of thought, and must have studied its consequences on the lives of the affected children. They may also have listened to groups and organizations, including the Catholic Church of the Philippines, which are against this proposal.
Providing help for these children, known as the “Community-based Intervention at Diversion”, agrees with one great principle of the Catholic Church’s social teaching, the subsidiarity. Subsidiarity recognizes the capabilities of families in society in giving attention to their needs without the intervention from higher authorities such as the national government. The subsidiarity doesn’t state that we do not need the government. The government is necessary if it is clear that a family, community or even institution is not capable to attend to their needs—in the cases of children who committed crime, they need a guide to redeem what they have done wrong and given justice according to their misdeeds. Is the government the only provider of help for these children? Is it not the primary duty of the parents with the help of the communities? The government will help in providing sufficient funding for the programs useful for the children wanting to go on the right path, as they say.
Brothers and sisters, our movement against the proposed lowering of the MACR is not over, especially with the coming 18th Congress because of its majority consisting of those allied with the administration. As Presidential allies, they favor almost everything that the President wants to implement. Which is why we need to continue to be vigilant because this fight is for our youth.
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