Philippines president originally wanted children as young as nine to be culpable as part of brutal war on drugs

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

President Rodrigo Duterte has pushed for the legal age of criminal responsibility in the Philippines to be lowered to just 12, leading to fears children will be increasingly targeted in his violent war on drugs.

Duterte has led the campaign for children to be held culpable as adults for crimes after claiming that drug lords were using children as mules for their illegal trade and that these juveniles were getting away “scot-free”.

The president had originally wanted the age to be dropped to nine, but agreed to 12 after pushback from politicians and campaigners. The current threshold is 15.

The proposed legislation, which is going through the House of Representatives with the Senate also considering a similar bill, could result in children being arrested and detained in the already overcrowded and dangerous adult detention centres.

‘Example to the world': Sri Lanka president plans to copy Duterte's war on drugs Read more

This has also led to concerns children could increasingly be caught up in the violent, often fatal, drug raids carried out by police as part of Duterte’s war on drugs, which has killed more than 5,000 people, according to an official toll. Some campaigners estimate the real death toll is between 12,000 and 20,000.

An Amnesty report in 2017 found that police had killed dozens of children in the first 18 months of the war on drugs.

The international criminal court is conducting a preliminary investigation into whether crimes against humanity have been committed as part of the drugs crackdown.

According to police statistics released this week, between January 2017 and December 2018, about 1,300 minors were arrested in connection with illegal drugs, mainly for their roles as drug runners.

Committee chairman Salvador Leachon claimed the bill would “protect our children from being used by ruthless and unscrupulous criminal syndicates” and put a stop to gangs using children as part of their trade. However, others have condemned the bill as yet another way in which the urban poor are punished by the war on drugs, as most children who do get swept up in the drug trade are doing it due to extreme poverty.

Bayan Muna representative Carlos Zarate condemned the bill described the bill as “anti-child and anti-poor”.

“You don’t help victimised and marginalised children by branding them as criminals and limiting their options while growing up,” said Zarate.