Short answer. Under the older provision, yes. Section 7 of RA 7610 imposes its penalty in the maximum period when the victim is under twelve years of age. But trafficking of children today is principally prosecuted under a later, dedicated law — RA 9208 (2003), as amended by RA 10364 (2012) — which generally carries the heavier penalties.
What the law says
The penalty shall be imposed in its maximum period when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age.
RA 7610, Section 7 — Child Trafficking. Read the full provision →
What the RA 7610 provision says
Section 7 punishes trading and dealing in children and provides that The penalty shall be imposed in its maximum period when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age. So within this older text, the child's very young age is an aggravating fact that pushes the sentence to its most severe range. The provision remains on the books, which is why the statute still reads this way on its face.
Read it against the current law
This part of RA 7610 has been overtaken. Trafficking of children is now principally prosecuted under a dedicated statute: Republic Act No. 9208 (2003), as amended by Republic Act No. 10364 (2012), the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. That later law governs trafficking cases today and generally carries the heavier penalties, and it treats the victim being a child as a qualifying circumstance. A case brought now is usually laid under RA 9208 as amended rather than under Section 7 of RA 7610.
What this means in practice
The practical takeaway is that the child's age still matters, and matters gravely, but you should look to the current anti-trafficking law for the real measure of the penalty, not to the superseded provision alone. Because the applicable statute and the exact aggravating and qualifying circumstances turn on the specific facts, anyone facing or reporting such a case should get advice on which law applies before relying on any single section. Report suspected child trafficking to the proper authorities without delay, and preserve any evidence of the transaction.
Which law measures the wrong
Two points are worth separating. Section 7 of RA 7610 is about trading and dealing in children — buying, selling or bartering a child — and its very-young-age rule aggravates that specific conduct. Where the facts amount to trafficking in persons, the charge today is laid under RA 9208 as amended by RA 10364, under which the victim being a child is itself a qualifying circumstance that raises the offence to its most serious form. Whichever statute applies, the child's tender age is never treated as a point in the offender's favour; the disagreement is only over which law measures the penalty, not over whether youth makes the wrong graver.