"Our young children is the hope of our country" Jose Rizal

Dr. Jose Rizal's hopes for the young children is very evident in the statement he left. Base on the statistics of the population of our country 32.42% of the population are children age from 0 to 14 years old. This covers a total of 18, 060, 976 males and 17,331, 781 females. Looking at the figures, more than the quarter of our population are young children. According to the Manila Bulletin the average Filipino family has three children. If we were to look at this figure, if these children are mishandled it has a great impact to the economy and to the country itself.

In Juvenile Law young offender are protected if they are below 18 years old. But the question is, if these perpetrators are being protected by the then what justice it gives to the victims?

Records had shows that criminal crimes committed by young offenders does not only limit in cheating on a exam, or stealing beer in a grocery store. There are crimes of manslaughter, murder, scams, drugs, prostitution, robbery, human trafficking, etc.

How dare a child unabashed, challenge, and break the law at the very young age?

The PNP has already a records of young offenders ages 11 years old and below who have committed serious crimes. Because of this data it was being proposed that criminal liability should be lower down to nine years old. It is logical? It is reasonable to put a nine years old child behind the bars? Do a nine year old has the capacity to understand the weight of the sentence? If giving sentence to an offender is correcting the mistake they have done, does the child totally understood the essence of the correction or the weight of the crime the child had commit.

The development of a human mind and the age to where the mental ability is fully developed is approximately at the age of 25. Children ages from 0 to 18 years old don't have the full capacity of rational thinking and decision making. You might experience that or observe that with your children. See, children are impatient and easy to carried away by their feelings because by nature they are sensitive and immature. But adults should not underestimate this and forsaken children. If a child is being mishandled it will reflect on the behavior of the child. Criminal cases involving young offenders are as heinous as crimes committed by adult, but differ in context.

THE MURDER OF LYNDON MASINSIN

The victim is a 19 years old and the perpetrators are 17 years old, 16 years old, and 18 years old. The victim was being killed and the body was being mutilated and being buried at the backyard of one of the suspects house. The three perpetrators are not involve in illegal drugs, or any addictions. They are originally group of peers. Imagine the weight of the crime committed by a 16 years old, 17 years old, and 18 years old.

The perpetrators are proven not addicted to drugs or any vices. The crime had come to light when the two of the murderers come to light and surrender but until now the 18 years old suspect still has not yet been caught. The damage of the crime still torment the family of the deceased. Below is the one year post of a Facebook page for Lyndon Masinsin.

The crime was on 2017 and the family is still fighting for justice for Lyndon. This is a living proof that not all the time the law protects the victims. In this matter if the law protects the young offender because according to the law children should be protected but how about if the victim is also an under age? who will be accountable for this? how can the family accept the trials result? who should be blame?

The case of John Ernest "Joer" Rivera

The victim is still 18 years old and perpetrators' age range from 16 to 18 years old. It was a gang fight that result in death. Many of these young offender who want to join gangs because of poor parental guidance, peer pressure, and lack of adult guidance. This kind of crimes are very evident in our country and most gangs are not only being linked with one crime but mostly get involve in different crimes.

But this one is different someone died, someone got killed, and many had injured. There was a lot of adults during the crime, no one dared to help. What kind of adults we are in the sight of children if during that chaos all we do is stand by and watch them slitting each others throat. What kind of example do we give? Why did no one stop it? It was in front of SCHOOL? How come in the broad daylight, in an open space with adults around it, there was a child got killed?

How can we convict the opposing gang for the damage if there was a opportunity to stop the chaos in the first place but no adults did it? Those are just children and yes they are fighting with weapons with them but there were adults, a lot of adults, how come no one called the authorities, how come no one dare to stop the chaos.

Children are immature and impulsive by nature that is why guidance is very essential in the ages 10 to 19 years old because hormones are kicking in and there emotions are ranging. We accept it or not we have the obligation to guide them even if you are not their guardian or parents. You are an adult who should not be tolerating this kind of behaviors but what have the witness done, all they did is to watch until someone died.

WHO SHOULD BE BLAME?

It takes a village to raise a child, this means in a child development a lot of people are involve as well as the surrounding and the kind of life style they were being raise. So, if a child will grow in to a criminal... it took a village.

I am not writing this for you to take side to whether to lower criminal liability or to promote child protection. I am writing this for you to understand the obligations and responsibility of adults and how your actions affect children. Better dig into the reason rather than giving judgements without basis. Thank you.

-WriterJo