‘Wrong from every angle’: UNICEF slams proposed Philippines law to jail nine-year-olds

‘A proposed law that would lower the age of criminal responsibility for Filipino children from 15 to nine is “wrong from every angle,” the head of the United Nations children’s agency in the Philippines has warned.
“If they grow up spending their teenage years in a prison, they most probably will be damaged for life,” UNICEF representative Lotta Sylwander told the Guardian in a telephone interview from Manila.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies have been pushing for the age of criminal responsibility to be lowered. The draft bill was introduced by house speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who said the current age of 15 was “pampering … youth offenders who commit crimes knowing they can get away with it.”
Another draft bill under consideration aims to restore the death penalty.’
Read more: ‘Wrong from every angle’: UNICEF slams proposed Philippines law to jail nine-year-olds