Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region III
Division of Nueva Ecija
GENERAL TINIO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Pulong Matong, General Tinio, Nueva Ecija
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JUVENILE JUSTICE: THE EFFECTS OF LOWERING CRIMINAL LIABILITY ON

CHILDREN'S RIGHT

Althea Jeane L. Miomio

Rhea Mae S. Padolina

Jamaica D. Santiago

RESEARCHERS

Jayson O. Gabronino

RESEARCH TEACHER

A research proposal in partial fulfillment for the requirement in

Practical Research I at General Tinio National High School-Senior
High School Curriculum.

S.Y. 2022-2023, SECOND SEMESTER

 CHAPTER I
PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

INTRODUCTION

Children's rights include, the rights to health, their freedom

of expression, their right to participate in all matters that

directly influence their well-being or their right to be

protected from any form of violence or discrimination.

(Lohrenscheit, 2010). Basically rights to be define is the

universal because everyone is born with the same rights,

regardless of where they live, what their gender and races, their

religious, culture and ethic background. Moreover, the United

Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child presume the

Philippines as a State Party to the Convention has the obligation

and accountability to undertake all appropriate legislative,

administrative, and other measures for the realization of

children’s rights and that children have access to services,

protection from all forms of abuse and violence, opportunities

for personal development to reach their fullest potential.

Therefore,the Philippine Government passed the Republic Act

9344 known as "Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006." It is

the system that deals with children at risk and children in

conflict with the law (CICL), which provides intervention program

for 15 years old and rehabilitation or diversion program for 16 -

17 years old child without discernment. In addition, it is

amendments by Republic Act No. 10630 that further emphasized more

rehabilitation center called 'Bahay Pag-asa' maintaining the

criminal responsibility at the age of 15. Also supported by

Presidential Decree No. 603, otherwise known as the Child and

Youth Welfare Code, legally allowed children to receive proper

treatment and competent care as part of their rights.

On the other hand, the House of Representatives’ Sub-

Committee on Judicial Reforms under the Committee on Justice

approved a bill to lower the minimum age of criminal

responsibility from 15 to 9 years old, this amended bill might

lead inappropriate procedure to protect the rights of Filipino

children. Therefore this study will evaluate deeper understanding

on how lowering criminal liability can affect child holistic

health are as follows: 1) Physical health 2) Emotional health 3)

Social health 4) Intellectual health 5) Spiritual health.

Futhermore, the United Nations International Children's

Emergency Fund (UNICEF) refuted the bill of lowering criminal

liability of the Philippine congress because it can abuse the

rights of Filipino children.The Representative of the Secretary-

General on Violence against Children (SRSG). Ms Marta Santos-Pais

said “Research shows that lowering the age of criminal

responsibility and punitive criminal justice to youth offences

has negative consequences; including risks of being used in

criminal activities at increasingly younger ages, compromising

completion of education and access to opportunities for

vocational skills, and stigmatizing them as criminals and

exposing them to further violence, neglect and social exclusion.”

The conduct of this study will focus on Children in conflict

with the law in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija, knowing that juvenile

justice system is the separate sentencing guidelines for

children. By the use of questionnaire as research instrument

containing the experiences and grounds of offender might expand

the awareness to promote programs educating social workers to

handle CICL, parents to nuture children in a right direction and

children in conflict with the law in reintegration into the

society.

The possible factors for children to ended up commiting a

crime are as follows: 1) Gender 2) Age 3) Social environment 4)

Peer pressure 5) Social status. Those primary grounds of CICL

will analyze correctly to conduct accurate steps on the side of

the social workers to serve justice without violating the rights

of a child. This is affirmed by Article 1 of 1987 Philippine

Constitution that “No person shall be deprived of life, liberty,

or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be

denied the equal protection of the laws”

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In general, this study aims to understand the juvenile

justice system possessions in children. Particularly, it sought

to answer the following questions:

1.) What are the common grounds of Children in conflict with the

law to commit crimes ?

1 .1) Gender

1.2) Age

1.3) Social environment

1.4) Peer pressure

1.5) Social status

2.) What are the effects of lowering criminal liability on

children's based on five main aspects of personal health ?

2.1) Physical health

2.2) Emotional health

2.3) Social health

2.4) Intellectual health

2.5) Spiritual health

3.) How does the Philippine government enacted in juvenile

justice system ?
SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This study is confined to General Tinio, Nueva Ecija

Philippines, recorded children in conflict with the law to

determine the effects of lowering criminal liability on

children's based on five main aspects of personal health and the

common grounds for CICL to commit crimes under the Philippine law

and how was the duty bearers deal with it. This study had the

following limitations, including;

• The study will focus only in 10 selected children in

conflict with the law in General Tinio, Nueva Ecija using

Qualitative approach.

• This study shall conduct in the time frame of researchers—

quarter four of second semester, school year 2021-2022.

• A questionnaire research instrument will be use, therefore

researchers shall carried out mix face to face and online

interaction consisting of a series of questions to gather data

from respondents about their attitudes, experiences, or opinions.

• The study will be limited to participants who can provide

in-depth and detailed information about the phenomenon under

investigation using purposive sampling method.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Students.The conduct of this study shall give appropriate

perspective for the students to be accountable towards their

actions because this justice system is not exemption for CICL but

an awareness to maintain public safety and to promote core

values. This study can help a students to determine the rights

they hold once they are being subjected as children in conflict

with the law.

Community.The conduct of this study will allow the community to

be open-minded and embrace reintegration and rehabilitation of

children in conflict with the law without being stigmatize and

prejudice as criminals of the community, so with the open mind

community might embody key values in our society such as

fairness, dignity, equality and respect belongs to children in

conflict with the law (CICL).

Researchers. The conduct of this study will give substantial

amount of knowledge for us researchers to understand the

circumstances of children in conflict with the law with the

attention of juvenile justice system in the Philippines. It's

also expand the awareness of a researchers on how lowering

criminal liability might affects the development of a child.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

(a) Juvenile Justice System

— a separate justice system provides separate sentencing

guidelines and court structures to protect the rights and needs
of children in conflict with law.

(b) Children in conflict with the law (CICL)

— refers to a child who is alleged as, accused of, or adjudged

as, having committed an offense under Philippine laws.

(c) Criminal responsibility

— defined in the Model Penal Code (MPC) as occurring when a

person commits a criminal offense with intention, recklessness,
or negligence.

(d) Discernment

— it is an ability of a child to determine what is right from

wrong.

(e) Duty bearers

— those who have obligations for the protection and fulfillment

of child rights. Government and its agents, parents, and
community members are the duty bearers.
 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Juvenile justice, system of laws, policies, and procedures

intended to regulate the processing and treatment of nonadult
offenders for violations of law and to provide legal remedies
that protect their interests in situations of conflict or
neglect.

A juvenile justice system was created wherein children in

conflict with the law (CICL) are held accountable for the offense
they have committed based on their age, discernment, and
imposable penalty. “The system and procedures are designed from
years of studies and experience both in the Philippines and in
other countries, which show that the process of going through
ordinary formal criminal justice system is harmful to children
and will likely result in reoffending, thus the alternative
child-appropriate systems of accountability and rehabilitation
are established,” Atty. Oco added.

Under R.A. 9344 as amended, CICL who committed an offense at

age 15 years old or lower or above 15 years old but below 18 who
acted without discernment based on assessment are exempt from
criminal liability.

They should undergo intervention programs to be facilitated

with the help of the community and the local government unit.
While they are exempt from criminal liability, they are not
exempt from civil liabilities. However, CICL age above 15 but
below 18 and found to have acted with discernment are not exempt
from criminal liability. This means that a case can be filed in
court against them. Depending on the imposable penalty of the
committed offense, they can either undergo diversion or trial.
For offenses with an imposable penalty of six years and below
imprisonment, diversion can be done at the barangay, police,
local social welfare and development office (for victimless
crimes) or at the Prosecutor level. Meanwhile, for offenses with
imposable penalty of 12 years and below, the child may undergo
court diversion. If diversion fails or the case is not qualified,
or even if the case is qualified but diversion is not appropriate
for the child, the case will be brought to court for trial. The
CICL may be placed in the community, or if best interest
requires, committed to a Bahay Pag-Asa while the case is ongoing.
The CICL found guilty of an offense may undergo community-based
or center-based rehabilitation program. However, if the CICL did
not successfully rehabilitate, they may be required through a
court order to serve the rest of their sentence, upon reaching
either the age of majority or over 21 years old. “Our juvenile
justice system aims for victims to get justice. It seeks to
resolve conflicts through a wholistic manner using the
restorative justice approach that will actively involve the
victims or their survivors. The JJWA requires accountability from
children and their rehabilitation to prevent them from
reoffending. It also requires assistance to the victims or their
survivors. Hence it is imperative that it should be applied
together with existing laws applicable including our Revised
Penal Code and Special Penal Laws to protect the members of the
community”, said Atty. Oco.

A separate juvenile justice system was established in the

United States about 100 years ago with the goal of diverting
youthful offenders from the destructive punishments of criminal
courts and encouraging rehabilitation based on the individual
juvenile's needs.

  In 2018, the most recent year for which data are available,
about 750,000 young people were referred to juvenile courts
nationwide for delinquent offenses that violate the criminal
code, and another 101,000 for status offenses (such as running
away, consuming alcohol or skipping school) that would not be
illegal if committed by adults.

 The delinquency cases, 422,000 (57%) were formally

processed in court, of which 220,000 were adjudicated delinquent
(akin to a guilty conviction in adult court). Among youth who
were adjudicated delinquent, the largest share (139,000) were
placed on probation, and a much smaller number (62,000) were
removed from home and placed in correctional institutions or
other residential facilities.

  The 2018 data did not include a national single-day count

of all young people in institutions; the most recent recording of
that number, on Oct. 25, 2017, found that 43,580 youth were held
in residential facilities as a result of delinquency charges,
including 16,000 in pretrial detention and 27,000 committed to
residential facilities following adjudication.

Not all delinquency cases referred to the juvenile justice

system are formally processed in court. Some are dismissed,
others are diverted (handled informally outside the justice
system) and still others are transferred for prosecution in adult
criminal courts.

Research comparing the outcomes for the youth under

different scenarios has yielded two primary findings: Diversion —
handling cases outside the justice system — typically leads to
better outcomes than formal processing in juvenile court. The
preponderance of evidence indicates that youth whose cases are
formally processed in juvenile court typically have worse
outcomes than similar youth whose cases are handled informally,
both in terms of future involvement in the justice system and
success in education and employment. This is especially true for
youth accused of lower-level misbehavior and those who do not
have a long history of past arrests 78

Transfer or waiver to adult court does not reduce rates of

subsequent justice system involvement and may increase them. Some
studies have found that transfer has a neutral effect on
subsequent justice system involvement, 910 while others show that
transfer leads to worse outcomes.

 
 The primary goals of the juvenile justice system, in
addition to maintaining public safety, are skill development,
habilitation, rehabilitation, addressing treatment needs, and
successful reintegration of youth into the community. Also,
juvenile delinquency is important because it is one of society's
values. When a child or young adult commits a crime, they need to
be punished for it so they learn their lesson and the will not do
it again.
 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHOD
REFERENCE

•C.Lohrenscheit, in International Encyclopedia of Education

(Third Edition), 2010 from https://www.amazon.com/International-
Encyclopedia-Education-Penelope-Peterson/dp/0080448933

• K.Pangilinan,(2006).REPUBLIC ACT No. 9344. The Lawphil

project.fromhttps://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2006/ra_93
44_2006.html
•Republic of the Philippines(2013).Republic Act No. 10630.from
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2013/10/03/republic-act-no-
10630/
•https://www.britannica.com/topic/juvenile-justice
•https://www.jjwc.gov.ph/news/juvenile-justice-law-details-child-
sensitive-procedure/
•https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/9747/chapter/7
•https://www.coursehero.com/file/109939367/Belge-6docx/
•https://youth.gov/youth-topics/juvenile-justice