Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7) — Senator Kiko Pangilinan insisted that the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act that he authored still punishes children who commit crimes, refuting claims the law allows them to just be released.
“[H]indi totoo na hindi dapat pinaparusahan ang mga batang nagkasala. Hindi rin totoo na pinapakawalan,” said Pangilinan on the Rated Korina show that was uploaded on YouTube on Monday.
[Translation: It is not true that the children committing offenses are not being punished (by the law). It is not true that they can just be let go.]
The Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act raised the minimum age of criminal responsibility from nine to 15.
Under the law, children face a minimum of one year in involuntary detention in a youth detention home or rehabilitation center if they commit a serious offense.
“Merong parusa sa mga bata pero ‘wag naman ihahalo dito sa hardened criminals,” said the senator.
[Translation: There is a punishment for them but we should not mix them with hardened criminals.]
His clarification came after President Rodrigo Duterte discouraged people from voting for Pangilinan for vice president, blaming him and the juvenile law for encouraging young people to be more “daring” in carrying out criminal acts.
In 2019, Pangilinan previously pointed out that releasing young offenders without detaining them in a Bahay Pagasa or youth care facility was the wrong implementation of the law.
Duterte has criticized the law as early as 2017, with the same argument — that it promotes youth crime.
