Lower the age or not: Proposed amendment to Section 6 of RA 9344, otherwise known as “Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.”

Abstract

“The youth are the hope of our future” is a very common quote to the kind of society we lived in today where these young people can greatly contribute to the betterment of the community but can also become a problem if not guided properly. Crimes committed by the youth are not something new in human norms and affairs. But in the present, these problems of juveniles committing crimes and being delinquent must be given a great concern by the community we live by and has to call for special attention and prompt remedies especially to those younger ones whom we did not expect to commit some crimes in which we thought only the adults can. They are still the hope of our future and thus, in their very young age, they must be reared and disciplined properly for them to have a long life to live by for the better in the future. This is study in which the law-makers can set standards on determining the minimum age for criminal responsibility that will be applicable nowadays due to the rising of the numbers of minors committing crimes, not only that of petty crimes but also heinous crimes which may be given more attention.