Digital parenting pushed amid youth violence

MANILA, Philippines — Following a deadly shooting incident that involved two minors at a school in Tacloban City, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) yesterday called on heads of Filipino families to actively practice “digital parenting.”

According to the CPD, responsible parenthood extends beyond providing food, education and material needs, and should also cover active monitoring of children’s use of the internet.

“In today’s interconnected world, digital parenting has become an essential component of responsible parenthood. Parents and caregivers play a crucial role in fostering responsible digital citizenship,” CPD executive director Lisa Grace Bersales said.

“Beyond monitoring children’s online activities, families should actively engage adolescents in meaningful conversations about responsible social media use, respectful online behavior, cyberbullying and the responsible consumption of digital content,” she added.

The CPD also stressed the importance of parents and guardians being emotionally present, maintaining open communication and recognizing changes in children’s behavior.

Meanwhile, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) is already working with social media platforms especially Facebook to effect the demotion of videos of school violence in Tacloban and Cavite that have gone viral on social media.

CICC executive director, Undersecretary Renato Paraiso, said that the demotion was meant to suppress or halt the spread of such videos and prevent them being seen by more netizens. Aside from demoting the videos, Paraiso said they ultimately aim to take them down.

The CICC said they are also asking for data preservation of the posted videos for use in going after those who had posted the content, since this should not have been done considering children were involved.

Amend the law

To deter gun violence in the country, there is a need for Congress to revisit Republic Act 9344 or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, and RA 10591 or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said yesterday, noting that the recent shooting incident showed “infirmities” in provisions of the two laws.

Investigation showed the 14-year-old suspect alias Nash was confident he would not face criminal charges even if he committed mass murder. Nash did most of the shooting, unloading several shots on his schoolmates compared with his cohort, 15-year-old Rod, who only fired once.

Based on the conversations between the two boys on Facebook Messenger, Remulla said Nash was not concerned about the heinous crime that he was about to commit as he believed he was exempted from criminal prosecution.

“He believed he will not be charged so he fired many shots. He thought that according to the law, he can get away with it,” Remulla said.

“I would recommend strongly to Congress that we work together to come up with a more comprehensive law on juvenile justice,” he added.

As for the firearms law, Remulla wants a criminal aspect in its implementing rules and regulations as irresponsible gun owners only face civil liability if their firearms are used by other people in crimes.

Nash got the Glock 9mm pistol from his aunt who is a policewoman, while Rod obtained the .38-caliber revolver from his grandfather, a former security guard.

Ban violent games

Remulla has also called for the ban of violent video game Gorebox, noting that minors involved in recent school violence were all hooked on the game.

“I believe also that games espousing violence like Gorebox should be permanently banned in the Philippines,” Remulla said during a press conference at Camp Crame yesterday. “Games desensitize young people into the elements of death, elements of violence, and elements of murder.”

More police presence in schools

After the deadly shooting in Tacloban and other attacks in school campuses, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is pushing for more police presence in school flag-raising ceremonies and other educational activities to deter crime in campuses.

Citing his previous stints as commander of police units, PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said police officers who participate in flag ceremonies could also lead students in reciting the “Panatang Makabayan” and chat with learners before returning to their stations.

Nartatez said the initiative will strengthen safety measures in schools for the protection of students, teachers and campus personnel from harm.

The incidents of student violence in campuses – including shootings, stabbings, and other acts that result in the death of learners – reflect a wider social crisis, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) said yesterday.

CEAP said research across criminology, psychology, public health, and education shows that youth violence is rarely caused by a single factor.

CEAP said the issue of youth violence also requires a careful understanding of juvenile justice, noting that young people who commit serious offenses must be held accountable, but justice systems must also recognize the developmental realities of adolescence.

The recent shooting incident and other acts of violence in schools should serve as an eye-opener for the Department of Education (DepEd) and the government on the lack of security personnel and guidance counselors, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) said on Thursday.

“Actually, in our school, we also saw the lack of intervention and support system for our youth and we also saw the lack of security personnel and guidance counselors. We need well-trained security guards who have equipment, as well as better fences and gates. This is also what the DepEd should look at,” TDC secretary general Jim Lester Beleno said over dzBB.

“(In the school that I am teaching), we do not have a registered or licensed guidance counselor. We only have a guidance advocate and this is the regular teacher who also has a regular load,” Beleno said, adding that utility personnel act as security guards in many schools.

According to Beleno, teachers should be trained in case there is a shooting incident in school. He added that safety protocols should be included in the implementation of the three-term school calendar.

‘Don’t lower age of criminal liability’

Child advocates are urging the public not to get fixated on lowering the age of criminal responsibility, with one official saying the Tacloban high school shooting involves a complex set of issues.

Lawyer Gaby Concepcion, the newly minted chair of the National Authority for Child Care, argued that the age of criminal responsibility, currently set at 15, does not need further changing.

“What we need is proper implementation of ‘Bahay Pag-Asa,’ the detention facility, as well as undergoing counseling, rehabilitation—all these intervention programs,” Concepcion told radio dzBB on Thursday.

“If you put a child inside the Bilibid,” she warned, “they will be hardened criminals faster than you can say criminal.”

Nitz Dalde, spokesperson for the advocacy group Child Rights Network, explained that children do not know how to manage their anger well, even if they know what’s right or wrong.

“Even if a child knows what’s right and wrong, they don’t know why it’s wrong and right,” Dalde told The STAR. –  Bella Cariaso, Emmanuel Tupas, EJ Macababbad, Rainier Allan Ronda