Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said he supports a fresh and evidence-based congressional review of the country’s juvenile justice system especially if it is no longer responsive to current realities.

Escudero, who co-authored Republic Act No. 9344 in 2006 and its amendatory law, Republic Act No. 10630 in 2013 said he supports such move considering his long involvement in crafting the framework for the juvenile justice law, pointing out that no human-made statute is “perfect or untouchable.”

“I have long been a legislator, and I always say that there is only one law—carved in stone and originating from God—that we cannot change. All other laws are merely written on paper... they come from people. There is no perfect legislator who knows everything well enough to craft a law that can never be amended for all time,” Escudero said on Sunday during the conclusion of a two-part edition of his “Chiz Wiz” podcast tackling the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

Escudero made the remark amid fresh debates on juvenile accountability, school safety gaps, and gun access following the recent school shooting in Tacloban City, Leyte.

Even the framers of the 1987 Constitution included mechanisms for amendment, recognizing that no law can anticipate all future problems, the senator noted.

“They acknowledge that they do not possess all the wisdom needed to solve the problems that existed when they wrote that,” he noted.

According to Escudero, revisiting the law should not be seen as an admission of error but as a necessary response to changing circumstances.

“We, lawmakers, must all be open to any changes and look for opportunities to improve, refine, correct, and expedite the laws we pass, and ensure they are better—all for the sake of our country, our fellow citizens, and, of course, the Filipino youth,” he said.

Responding to questions from his podcast guests, he clarified that RA 9344 and RA 10630 already contain accountability, intervention, and rehabilitation mechanisms for children in conflict with the law, contrary to claims that minors “cannot be punished.”

Thus, he said a “full-cycle review” of the juvenile justice system” is warranted in order to address gaps in the implementation and strengthen measures that protect public safety while upholding the principles of juvenile justice.

“The law is for the people. If it no longer meets the needs of the times, it is our duty to amend and adapt it,” he reiterated.