The talk of the town is understandably about the school shooting in Tacloban City because of the premeditation on the part of the shooters, who relied on being minors as their ticket out of jail and of course, the young schoolmates they murdered.
Sadly, the Tacloban shooting, as high profile as it was, is not the only incident that we have been shocked by. The Ateneo athletes who drowned shocked many because the team and players are popular. Then there was the school stabbing last week and before that there was the jilted boyfriend or suitor who shot his girlfriend in the face in school last year.
As shocking and as brutal as the incidents may be, what shocks me is that even in this dark circumstance, people from all walks of life somehow manage to turn the cases into political debates, pitting senators against senators.
Others call on changing the law in order to imprison minors as young as nine years old in order to stop the practice of them being used by criminal gangs or from turning into criminals themselves.
I cannot help but comment on the situation because it seems that many people have lost sight of self-accountability if not common sense. You don’t need rocket science to know that the kids, the children, the minors are just the tail end of the bigger monster.
We are supposed to be the adults in the room!
People keep talking about “bullying” in school, but I have not heard or read of a complete teaching program from kindergarten/prep all the way to the work place that educates, creates awareness and consequence of bullying. It has been mostly talk!
Those kids in Tacloban knew what to do because the internet and media made the information available. That is why a couple of countries already want to ban socmed for minors.
What about access to and presence of guns? Whether the guns came from a police relative or a security guard, this incident points to how careless or untrained many gun owners are. Having a loaded gun visible to minors is like placing porn under your bed. The kids know where to find porn as well as a gun.
Security guards are supposed to leave their guns at their post. In some countries, cops are not allowed to carry or bring home their service weapon. Owners always talk about rights and being responsible until someone in the family is angry enough to break the rules or to kill themselves.
There is a warehouse full of social failures and all we come up with is politics and blaming the children and demanding punishment. If our justice system really worked, people would obey the laws; if people obeyed laws, they would take responsibility for weapons, behavior and beliefs.
But nothing works and now the children become the sacrifice!
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After writing the article “Better robbed than burned,” I received a press release recalling the experience of residents severely affected by the fire at Olympic Tower 3. I also received a video of an interview conducted by Carlo Ople with one of the victims.
I’m printing some of the information provided simply to show the extent of the fire and the injury it caused to residents. Bear in mind that the Eastwood complex is a popular residential choice among senior citizens. Here is part of the press release:
Human toll and medical emergencies
Left with no immediate guidance, residents were forced to self-evacuate under perilous conditions. Neighbors carried bedridden seniors down 20 flights of stairs in total darkness, while one resident on the 26th/27th floor climbed down the building’s exterior open viaduct to survive. On the ground, fleeing victims found a complete absence of first aid or oxygen staging. The medical consequences have been severe and tragic, with at least one human fatality reported by the community:
Unit 29D: Four family members remain heavily sedated, incapacitated, and intubated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) suffering from prolonged hypoxia and active brain swelling. Their family dog, Willow, died from smoke inhalation.
Unit 22nd Floor: An entire five-member family, including a 1-year-old child and a 70-year-old grandmother, is confined to the ICU.
High-Zone Diagnostics: Multiple residents have been diagnosed with chemical pneumonia and severe lung inflammation from toxic smoke. Physicians have ordered all exposed individuals to undergo Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT) and Chest-CT Scans to monitor long-term respiratory damage from acidic plastic and rubber fumes.
Registry of affected residents
The following section is reserved for the official registration of all individuals and families affected by the Olympic Heights Tower 3 fire disaster to ensure accurate legal representation, medical monitoring and relief distribution.
Paula Marie Aroja, 23rd Floor, intubated at the ICU for severe smoke inhalation.
Dwight Santos and Elrica Santos, 24th Floor, exposed to toxic smoke for four hours, displaced.
Mina Gutierrez Contreras, 27th Floor, senior citizen with co-morbidities intubated for severe smoke inhalation.
Sagarika Kalose, 22nd Floor, intubated at the ICU for severe smoke inhalation.
Swapna Mishra, senior citizen, intubated at the ICU for severe smoke inhalation.
Naanda Kalose, 22nd Floor, intubated at the ICU for severe smoke inhalation.
Naksh Kalose, 22nd Floor, seven-year-old, intubated at the ICU for severe smoke Inhalation. Baby Aashvi Kalose, 22nd Floor, one year old, intubated at the ICU for severe smoke inhalation.
Juan Miguel Palao, Kay Ann Catle, Wolf Larsen Catle, 29th Floor, all intubated for severe smoke inhalation. Please continue to pray for them.
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