eng - World Organisation Against Torture

5. Regarding minimum age of criminalresponsibility:• OMCT recommends that theCommittee on the Rights of the Childstrongly ask the government of thePhilippines to adopt the proposedComprehensive Juvenile Justice Bill(S.B. 1402), which raises the age of criminalresponsibility from 9 to 12 years oldand reforms the juvenile justice systemin order to follow the provisions laid downin the CRC;• and to clarify the wording “act with discernment”and ensure that it will be appliedconsistently by the judgesaccording to each particular case.6. Regarding the issue of children inconflict with the law, OMCT recommendsthat the Committee on the Rightsof the Child ask the government of thePhilippines to:• reform the legal frame ruling childrenin conflict with the law by clarifying thecurrent laws particularly the proceedingsand create a criminal system specific tochildren that will be a real juvenile justicesystem;• enable the effective access to legal assistancefrom the time of the arrest;• ensure that, where an accused claimsto be a child and objectively has the appearanceof a child, the burden of provingthe age of the accused is shift to theState. Such an accused should be treatedas a child unless/until his majority isproved;• ensure that child’s parents and theDepartment of Social Welfare andDevelopment have been informed within8 hours after the arrest;• ensure that the officer conducting thepreliminary examination ensures that thecontact details of the accused, includinghis place of detention, are sent to thePAO together with the subpoena and affidavitof complaint in the event the accusedchild cannot afford private legalrepresentation;• ensure that the arrested child is consistentlyinformed by an officer of the reasonof his or her arrest and possiblecustody and of his or her rights;• ensure that the arrested child has effectivelybeen delivered to the proper52