Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday, June 28 renewed his push for the passage of the measure that prohibits minors aged 16 and below from accessing social media, saying he believes this should be prioritized among other bills that is now being pushed following the tragic Tacloban school shooting. 

While he believes that a review of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act is necessary following the shooting incident, Gatchalian said lawmakers should consider prioritizing the bill limiting minors from using social media, including online gaming platforms, to curb the rise of violent behavior and mental distress among the youth.

“Lowering the minimum age of criminal liability should be debated and the Senate is open to that when we resume,” Gatchalian said in an interview on Radio DZBB.

“But when it comes to the bill prohibiting social media use for 16 years old and below, that for me is the priority. It’s one of the priority bills that I submitted,” said Gatchalian, who filed Senate Bill No. 2066 or the proposed Social Media Safety for Children Act.

“Because the biggest question here today is what influences children these days to commit this violence? Because children are not violent. There are influences that happen. That's why they become like this in their thinking,” he pointed out.

Gatchalian said restricting minors from violent online games such as Roblox, Gorebox  would also be included in his proposal.

SB No. 2066 primarily mandates age-verification mechanisms and also restricts platforms that promote addictive behaviors especially in youth.

“Their parental controls should be strict and their identification validation should be strict. So, not just because you provide an email, you can open an account. There should really be facial recognition or age verification,” he said,

“Second, our CICC, the Cyber Crime Intelligence Agency, should be stricter and faster in their blocking. For example, if they detect children who have social media or are doing something to get into social media, the government itself will block these accounts,” the senator added.

House of Hope 

Asked where he stands about the debate on the age of criminal liability, Gatchalian expressed his belief on the need to increase the number of Bahay Pag-asa (House of Hope) Centers where children in conflict with the law (CICL) can be rehabilitated.

The former Valenzuela mayor said he has seen firsthand the benefits of putting CICLs in these centers. 

“These produced a good outcome for the youth who have lost their way. These are children. And many of them have lost their way because of the influence of social media or other influences,” he pointed out. 

“Here they are given a second chance to change and make their lives better. If this implementation of the House of Hope is good, there is a great possibility that these children will be reformed and return to our society as good people,” 

“But that is what I will focus on, the implementation of the House of Hope because if it is lacking, you have a law, but it is not implemented well, we will not see the good outcome of the law,” he pointed out.

If the mechanisms being implemented at Bahay Pag-asa Centers would be improved, Gatchalian said there would be enough to correct the behavior of CICLs. 

“We have a law, but it hasn't been implemented well,” he lamented.