Rimaliza A. Opiña, Baguio Midland Courier, 4/6/2014
Establishment of “teen courts” are among the suggestions of a special committee tasked to study proposals to amend Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act.
Teen courts will exclusively handle cases involving youthful offenders. The Criminal Code Committee (CCC) under the Department of Justice suggested in a policy paper the special court will follow special procedures when dealing with offenders.
Consistent with a Supreme Court circular outlining how the courts should deal with charged offenders, the CCC said discernment should be initially handled by a social worker and finally by the court in the case of a child charged with a non-serious offense.
In the prosecution of offenders, the CCC said the court should be guided by the “Beijing Rules,” which means they should be tried differently from that of an adult. Offenders may also avail themselves of provisional release on recognizance and bail.
Reduction in formality in courtroom procedures was also recommended.
The House Committee on Justice began hearing inputs for the amendment, in particular the provision prescribing the minimum age of criminal responsibility for youthful offenders.
The Baguio city council is one of those that pushed for an amendment of the law, following the gravity of crimes committed by minors.
From 15 years old, the proposed amendment is to lower this to 13 years old.
In the Baguio leg of the hearing conducted last Thursday, the House Committee on Justice presented the policy paper of the DOJ CCC, which recommended lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13.
To buttress its support to the clamor to lower the age of criminal liability, the CCC cited national and international studies and data from the Philippine National Police showing the increasing trend of youth involved in crimes.
Recent data it gathered from the PNP showed from 1,825 children charged in 2007, this steadily rose until 2010. From 2,739 in 2009, youth offenders rose to 4,246 in 2010. The age range of the highest number of offenders is between the ages of 16 and 17, the CCC added.
The CCC said the same trend is happening at the international level.
While the Philippines is a signatory to international conventions and treaties protecting the rights of a child, the CCC explained in the policy paper, nothing in the amendment contravene international laws. It said international laws recognize States have a sovereign right to determine their own threshold for domestic criminal responsibility.
“A 2009 survey of the Unicef revealed there are enhanced educational opportunities available to today’s children, either through formal schooling or through exposure to media and Internet, this means that an average Filipino child reaches social maturity more quickly and is capable of distinguishing right from wrong at a younger age.”
“Since an average Filipino child would have received at least six years of formal education in elementary education by the age of 13, they must, by then, have presumably inculcated in themselves the notion of right or wrong as well as the necessary moral attitudes and social values essential for their recognition that as certain act is a “serious wrong, which can possibly expose them to punishment,” the CCC added in the policy paper.
Rehabilitative approaches in dealing with youthful offenders remain a salient part of RA 9344.
The CCC suggested intervention programs should include a supervisory component and a treatment component.
The former constrains a juvenile’s freedom to act and access social and personal amenities including incarceration as the most extreme form of intervention, while the latter include counseling, mediation, cognitive behavioral therapy, academic instruction, and vocational training.
As much as possible, the CCC said detention should be the last resort.
In the apprehension of offenders, the CCC said unnecessary force should be avoided.
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