A disturbing spate of school-related violence followed the deadly shooting of students at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte last June 22. The tragic incident resulted in the deaths of three students and injuries to 20 other schoolmates. Much more unsettling in this rising campus violence is that schoolchildren – all minors – were behind the criminal acts.
In the specific case of the Tacloban incident, 14- and 15-year-old male high school students were the shooters. They were able to bring guns inside their campus undetected. It would have been an open-and-shut case for police because they were quickly arrested after the shooting.
Instead, the Tacloban school shooting triggered a national debate: how to treat children in conflict with the law.
Initially prompted by this violent incident in Tacloban, lawmakers were gung-ho to propose amendments to Republic Act (RA) 9344, or the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act (JJWA). Leaders and members of the 20th Congress now want to revisit the provision of RA 9344 on the minimum age for criminal responsibility (MACR) that set it at 15 years old.
Under this law, a child of 15 years or younger at the time of the offense is absolutely exempt from criminal liability. Instead of going to jail or being prosecuted, the 15-year-old child offender is subjected to community-based intervention or rehabilitation programs.
Children who are above 15 but below 18 years of age are also exempt from criminal liability. Unless, RA 9344 expressly stated, they are proven to have acted with discernment. This means the capacity to understand the nature and consequences of their actions and know that they committed a wrong or felonious act. If discernment is proven, then this law allows the offender to undergo appropriate legal proceedings but are still given rehabilitative treatment and suspended sentences rather than standard adult imprisonment.
In the Tacloban incident, the initial findings from interviews of psychologists and social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported the 15-year-old shooter “acted with discernment.” Thus, the DSWD assessment validated the police findings of their investigation on the 15-year-old student that he can be held criminally liable under the prevailing RA 9344.
“This initial assessment of the minor’s capacity to distinguish right from wrong still requires formal verification by the court,” DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian disclosed. The DSWD secretary is willing to participate in discussions on proposed amendments to RA 9344.
Much earlier, a female Grade 8 student in General Trias City in Cavite was involved in an unprovoked attack. Seven Grade 5 students were wounded and hospitalized after her attack on them with a kitchen knife last June 16. Initial assessments by the PNP indicated that the suspect may be suffering from a depressive condition. She was placed under the custody of the City Social Welfare and Development Office to undergo medical and psychological evaluation.
While bleeding hearts for children in conflict with the law plead for mercy and understanding, they seem to have forgotten their victims, who were also children whose lives and future were cut short.
As the national debates rage on, more troubling incidents of violence involving minors in and out of schools have been taking place across the Philippines.
Just a day after the Tacloban school shooting, a Grade 9 student of the Julio Ledesma National High School in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental was stabbed, allegedly by another student over a grudge. The police tagged a Grade 10 student as the suspect who got arrested during a pursuit operation.
Both the victim and the suspect in this incident are 17 years old. But authorities had to strictly observe and handle all legal procedures to closely adhere with child protection protocols, since the victim and the suspect are still covered by RA 9344.
Three days later, also in Leyte, a copycat planned mass shooting by a 14-year-old girl with family issues was thwarted by the police in Tolosa. Then again last Monday, a 14-year-old Grade 8 student was stabbed by a 12-year-old Grade 7 student in front of a public high school in Barangay Sum-ag, Bacolod City. The child-offender later surrendered to police.
Last June 25, two students were caught with an improvised handgun and a kitchen knife inside the Aparri School of Arts and Trade in Barangay Maura in Aparri, Cagayan. They were caught with the weapons after the school principal asked them to open their bags following an altercation at the campus. The 15-year-old Grade 10 student claimed to have picked up the caliber .38 revolver at a roadside and brought it to school after purportedly experiencing bullying. The two troubled minors were turned over to social welfare authorities for intervention.
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. aptly described how they – the law enforcement authorities – try to address these rising violent acts by juvenile delinquents. Through more police presence and visibility, Nartatez pointed out, they try to strengthen safety measures in schools to protect not only students but also teachers and school employees.
“While violent behavior is often driven by multiple factors, we cannot ignore the possibility that certain forms of content may contribute to the normalization of violence and increase the risk of imitation or copycat behavior,” Nartatez warned.
The PNP earlier ordered greater police monitoring of online spaces where school violence, copycat attacks or violent extremist content are being glorified.
Nartatez instructed police commanders to coordinate with Department of Education officials in securing schools in their areas of jurisdiction. “Our goal is to help create a safe and secure learning environment where students can focus on their education without fear,” the PNP chief reassured the public.
Yesterday, an unnamed student of a public secondary school in General Mariano Alvarez town in Cavite was caught with a handgun.
We expect the schools to be safe zones for learning for our children. So this school scare must end and not add to their learning crisis.