Philippine law does not exempt minors accused of a crime from legal liability, contrary to false claims circulating online after two teenagers were arrested for a fatal shooting at a school in June 2026. While they will undergo different legal procedures, they still face the prospect of long-term rehabilitation or in some situations are charged as adults.
"Under the Pangilinan law -- you don't get jailed... That increased the number of crimes tenfold," says a June 23 Facebook post, referring to the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act 2006 that was co-authored by Senator Francis Pangilinan (archived link).
The law exempted children and teenagers under 18 years old accused of a crime from criminal liability.
The post includes a video of former president Rodrigo Duterte speaking about the law in 2022, saying: "If a 15-year-old enters your house, stabs you, kills you, and takes your money, when they get to the station the police will just say, 'Oh, reported and recorded, go do what you want'."
The post also shares pictures widely circulating online showing the two teen suspects in a rare Philippine school shooting at San Jose National High School in the central Philippine city of Tacloban, which killed three students and injured 20 others (archived link).
The claim spread in similar posts across Facebook in the days after the Tacloban shooting.
Police said the pair -- aged 14 and 15 -- planned the attack in advance, though the motive has yet to be determined, with bullying and...
A penalty would be determined as the hearing continues this week. In a written statement read to the tribunal today by her lawyer, Neil Shaw, the former Waikato midwife said that throughout her ca...