Lawmakers in the Philippines are working to be able to jail 9-year old children.

Presumptive House Speaker and Davao del Norte 1st District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez and Capiz 2nd District Representative Fredenil Castro recently filed House Bill No.2 which seeks to amend Republic Act No. 9344 or the “Juvenile Justice Delinquency Act of 2006” by lowering the MACR from 15 to 9 years old.

Child rights advocates and organizations vehemently oppose this move. Below is the position paper of the Philippine Action for Youth Offenders (PAYO) and The Child Rights Network (CRN) on the issue.

PAYO is a coalition of 16 civil society organizations and several individuals working together for the realization of a just and humane society for children in conflict with the law (CICL) while The Child Rights Network (CRN) is an alliance of government and non-government organizations advocating for the passage of national laws that will protect and fulfill the rights of Filipino children.

Get a .pdf copy of the position paper here.