MANILA, Philippines – Binatikos ni Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima ang panukalang batas ni Senador Robinhood “Robin” Padilla na naglalayong ibaba ang minimum na edad ng criminal responsibility sa 10 taong gulang mula sa kasalukuyang 15 taong gulang.
“Hindi kriminal ang bata. Ang batang naligaw ay hindi dapat kinukulong kundi kinakausap, inaaruga, at binibigyan ng pag-asa,” saad ni De Lima nitong Linggo, Hulyo 20.
“Lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old is not justice. It is abdication. It is a failure of imagination, of compassion, and of government,” aniya.
Layunin ng panukala ni Padilla na amyendahan ang Republic Act (RA) No. 9344 o ang Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, na nag-aalis ng mga criminal liability exemptions para sa mga nagkasala na may edad 10 hanggang 17 na gumawa ng mga karumal-dumal na krimen.
Si Padilla ay miyembro ng tinaguriang Duterte bloc sa Senado.
“We do not fix a broken justice system by putting its weight on the smallest, weakest shoulders. We fix it by asking hard questions: Bakit may batang nalululong sa krimen? Sino ang tunay na nakikinabang sa mga pagkakasalang ito? Saan tayo nagkulang bilang lipunan?” sabi ni De Lima.
“Senator Padilla’s proposal is not new. It is a recycled idea that refuses to die, no matter how many times child rights advocates, neuroscientists, developmental psychologists, social workers, and human rights defenders have refuted it with facts, and compassion.”
Sinabi ni De Lima na ang panukalang batas ay hindi tumutugon sa krimen; kundi “punishes trauma”. Sinabi din niya “It does not protect society. It betrays children we have already failed.”
“The law we already have—RA 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act—is clear, progressive, and rooted in restorative justice. What we lack is not legislation, but thoughtful implementation,” saad pa niya.
“As a former Secretary of Justice, I have seen what jails do to children. And I have seen what care, education, and structured rehabilitation can achieve. The difference is life-changing. Sometimes, life-saving,” dagdag ni De Lima.
“Kung ang sagot natin sa batang nadapa ay kulungan, hindi ang bata ang tunay na dapat usigin kundi ang sistemang wala nang malasakit,” ani pa niya.
Pagkatapos ay naglabas ng apela si De Lima sa kanyang mga kasamahang solon mula sa Kamara at Senado.
“This is not a question of being ‘soft’ or ‘tough’ on crime. This is a question of who we are as a people. Are we the kind of nation that throws away a child before we even try to understand their pain? Let us stop treating children as threats. They are mirrors. If we don’t like what we see, it is not the mirror we must shatter. It is the reflection of our failures.” RNT/MND
