A netizen had this open letter for Kiko Pangilinan
Senator Kiko Pangilinan was called out by a netizen because of RA 9344 after the story of the Maguad siblings was featured in Maalaala Mo Kaya.
Pangilinan is one of the principal authors of the law which is known as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act. Under this law, offenders who are minors will not be punished but will be put in a “child-friendly justice system focused on rehabilitation and restoration.”
Some people disagree with this as they will just give an excuse for people to use minors in crimes and even minor offenders will have the courage to commit a crime since the punishment is not that harsh.
This was recalled just recently because of the story of Maguad siblings, Crizzle Gwynn and Crizville Louis, who were murdered by their adopted sister who was a minor when the crime happened.
In line with this, netizen “Missy Nardo” on Facebook, based on the article in Bandera, shared an open letter to Sen. Kiko Pangilinan. The netizen congratulated the newly-elected Senator for winning in the 2025 elections.
Regarding the open letter, the netizen said that she did not write this out of anger but anguish and hope. She pointed out that the death of the Maguad siblings was a heartbreaking tragedy and it was a wake-up call.
“Senator, you authored Republic Act 9344, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, with the best of intentions—to protect and rehabilitate children. But the world has changed since 2006, and so has the way crimes are committed, even by the young. In the case of the Maguad siblings, the perpetrators were minors, but they acted with chilling intent, cruelty, and discernment,” the netizen pointed out.
Missy Nardo added that these young offenders already know what they are doing but because of the safeguards in the current law, “justice was delayed and diluted.” For the netizen, this is not justice.
Then, the netizen urged the Senator to take accountability, not just as a lawmaker, but most especially as the author of the law. “Revisit it. Reform it,” the netizen stressed.
She also said that Pangilinan should amend the law to ensure that minors who commit heinous crimes with that intention should receive appropriate, timely, and proportional consequences. “This is your chance to correct what has become a loophole for impunity. Let the pain of the Maguad family not be in vain. Let their tragedy lead to legislative change,” she said to Kiko Pangilinan.