Debate: Should we lower the age of Criminality age?
PRO/Agree CON/Disagree
 The current law has “pampered
youth offenders who commit
crimes” because “they know they
can get away with it.
 Age doesn't matter Criminal liability
is the responsibility for any illegal
behavior that causes harm or
damage to someone or something.
-Legal liability concerns both civil
law and criminal law and can arise
from various areas of law, such as
contracts, torts, taxes, or fines given
by government agencies. People
should take responsibility for what
they have done. The age of the
criminal responsibility in the
Philippines should be lowered, due
to the reasons that youths should be
responsible for the weight of their
actions; it is highly accepted in other
country and to stop criminals using
children as frontline perpetrators of
criminal acts.
 Juvenile justice system doesn't
say imprisonment automatically
-it aims to lower delinquency acts
happening or to completely wipe it
out and for those violators there are
assigned sanctions depending on
their cases. It also aims to correct
how minorities should act right and
live right.
 To teach them
-they need to be responsible with
their words and actions. It does not
mean that you are a child then you
can already do something that is
against the law.
 The rate of juvenile delinquency
is increasing
Examples:
Property Crimes: burglary, larceny,
 Lowering the age of criminal liability
would be disadvantageous to the
poor.
- Given the current state of the
justice system in the country, the
bill risks victimizing the poor,
among whom most offending
minors come from primarily
because of need. These families’
means barely cover their needs, let
alone hiring a lawyer. While poverty
is not an excuse to commit crime,
there ought to be a clear distinction
between making the children
responsible for their acts and
criminalizing them.
 Based on the results of Pulse Asia's
March 2017 Ulatng Bayan Survey
held from March 15 to 20, 55% of
Filipinos believe that the lowest age
of criminal liability in the Philippines
should be kept at 15 years old.
 Juvenile Delinquency is caused
by a lot of factors and we cannot
judge the child by his/her actions
alone
1.Family
2. Personal Problems
3. Society
4. Peer group influence
 Most of the juvenile delinquent
are being used by the adults for
their own gains
 Young people’s maturity is
different from the adult’s
-They know what is right and wrong
but is not that aware of the
consequences of their actions and
decisions
 Most of the juvenile delinquent is
in deep poverty and has
experienced a lot of hardships in
 theft, pickpocketing, arson
Violent Crimes: murder, forcible
rape, robbery, and aggravated
assault
Drug use, Drinking, Gang wars and
riots
life
 They are greatly affected by their
environment and the people they
interacts with

RA 9344, which sets the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 15 years old, was
amended in 2013 through RA 10630, which allows children as young as 12 to be
detained for serious crimes such as rape, murder, and homicide, among others. It also
requires local government units to manage their own BahayPag-Asa (Houses of Hope),
or rehabilitation houses for young offenders.
Reference:
Geronimo, J. (2017, February 18). Lower age of criminal liability? Here's why
psychologists are against it. Retrieved August 11, 2018, from
https://www.rappler.com/nation/161860-lower-age-criminal-responsibility-
psychologists
55% of Filipinos reject lower age of criminal liability – Pulse Asia. (2017, May 5).
Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/168945-majority-filipinos-reject-
lower-age-criminal-liability-pulse-asia
Should we raise the age of criminal responsibility? (n.d.). Retrieved August 11,
2018, from http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-we-raise-the-age-of-criminal-
responsibility
Causes and Solutions of Juvenile Delinquency. (2013, March 15). Retrieved
August 11, 2018, from http://readingcraze.com/index.php/cause-and-solution-of-
juvenile-delinquency/