11 senators sign report lowering age of criminal liability to 12

MANILA, Philippines — Eleven senators have signed a joint panel report seeking to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) from 15 years old to 12 years old.

The proposal was contained in a 13-page report prepared by three committees— justice and human rights chaired by Senator Richard Gordon; women, children, family relations and gender equality; and finance.

Aside from Gordon, the 10 senators who signed the report were Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Cynthia Villar, JV Ejercito, Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson and Manny Pacquiao.

Some of the signatories, includingVillanueva, Legarda and Escudero, indicated in the report that they would either interpellate or propose amendments in the measure.

The ten (out of 21) committee members who did not sign the report are the following:

Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto 11 Senator Grace Poe Senator Antonio Trillanes IV Senator Sherwin Gatchalian Senator Nancy Binay Senator Aqulino “Koko” Pimentel III Minority Leader Franklin Drilon Senator Risa Hontiveros Senator Francis Pangilinan Senator Bam Aquino

Six of those who did not sign the document — Sotto, Poe Trillanes, Gatchalian, Binay, and Pimentel — are part of the Senate’s majority block while Drilon, Hontveros, Pangilinan, and Aquino are part of the opposition bloc.

A similar bill, lowering the MACR to 12 years old, has already been passed by the House of Representatives. /ee

READ: House OKs on final reading bill lowering age of criminal responsibility to 12