Marcos: Lowering age of criminal liability needs careful study

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized the need for careful study and consultation with child psychology experts regarding any proposal to lower the country's age of criminal liability, citing the recent rise in violent incidents involving minors. Several proposals aim to reduce the age of criminal responsibility from the current 15 years to as young as 12. "Whether we should lower the age of (criminal responsibility) – they're even talking down to 12 years old – I'm not sure how that will work. We have to study it further. Our child psychologists, the surveys about mental health of children, that should be studied carefully," Marcos said at a press conference before flying back to Manila from Vancouver. In parallel, the government intends to ban gaming apps deemed responsible for desensitizing children to sex and violence. The President confirmed that the gaming app "Gorebox" has already been temporarily blocked. Initial investigations into a fatal classroom shooting in Tacloban, Leyte, revealed the teenage suspect was an avid player of the app. Marcos also commented on the potential impact of excessive social media exposure on children's behavior. "When I was growing up, we didn't have that. So maybe that has an effect. We're not sure," he said. He added, "But we're studying it very well because the effect is desensitization. That's also the sexualization of young people, has the same effect, the complete availability of pornography." The President reiterated that if a specific game or a class of games is proven to cause desensitization to violence in children, the government will immediately ban them. This discussion highlights the complex challenge of balancing crime deterrence with the potential impact on the mental health and development of minors in the digital age.