By Brian Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered authorities to determine the root cause why minors are engaging in violent and illegal activities, according to Malacañang.
Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro made the statement as she noted that the President was “heartbroken” over the news of recent cases of violence involving minors, particularly the fatal school shooting in Tacloban City, Leyte and a stabbing incident in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.
The shooting spree perpetrated by 14- and 15-year-old suspects at San Jose National High School in Tacloban on June 22 resulted in the deaths of three students and injuring 20 others.
A 17-year-old student at Julio Ledesma National High School in San Carlos City, meanwhile, stabbed a fellow student outside school premises on June 23.
“Ang mga mararahas na nangyayari sa ating bansa ay hindi po katanggap-tanggap, mas lalo na po kung kabataan ang nasasangkot,” Castro said in a press briefing Thursday.
“Noong nabalitaan nga po ng Pangulo ang nangyari sa Tacloban ay heartbroken, masasabi natin, ang naramdaman ng Pangulo dahil mga bata ang lumalabas na kaya na gumawa ng krimen, kayang magplanong gumawa ng krimen, at mga inosenteng mga kabataan din ang nabibiktima,” she added.
According to Castro, Marcos emphasized that such actions are concerning and should not be ignored.
“Iniuutos din po ng Pangulo ang agarang pag-determine ano ang nagiging ugat nito, maliban po sa nakita ng Pangulo na may kinalaman ang ibang mga gaming apps na marahas. So, dapat makita po talaga kung saan nagmumula ito, kung nagkakaroon ba ng panggagaya, nagiging para bang normal ang ganitong klase ng karahasan,” she said.
Earlier, Malacañang has said that the President is open to proposals restricting or banning violent online games amid concerns over their possible influence on behaviors of minors.
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center on Tuesday temporarily banned GoreBox, a sandbox-style game which allows players to experiment with various weapons and is known for its graphic depictions of violence.
Initial police investigation on the Tacloban school shooting showed that one of the two children in conflict with the law (CICL) was an avid player of the online game.
Meanwhile, the 14-year-old student who made alarming posts on Wednesday about an alleged mass shooting or stabbing targeting fellow students at the Tolosa National High School in Leyte was also a player of Gorebox, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.
Successive cases of school violence involving minors have sparked discussions on revisiting the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, with the Philippine National Police (PNP) expressing support for lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility from the current 15 years old to 12 years old, while Sen. Robinhood Padilla renewed his call to set it to 10 years old.
Malacañang maintained that the President would study any proposed measure to amend the law.
“Kagaya ng ating sinabi, depende po ito sa magiging bersiyon kung gagawa man at magbabalangkas ng panukalang batas [ang Kongreso], at ito’y aaralin ng Pangulo at para malaman natin kung ano ang nararapat para sa ating mga kabataan,” Usec. Castro said.
According to data from the PNP Women and Children Protection Center, a total of 1,275 school-related incidents involving CICLs were documented nationwide from 2022 to 2025. (with report from Kenneth Paciente / PTV News)
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