'Ganun na lang ba 'yun?': Tacloban school shooting victims' kin call for justice
Three teenagers died from the shooting rampage at San Jose National High School in Tacloban carried out by two other minors on June 22. Now the families of the deceased—echoed by government agencies, organizations, and lawmakers—are calling for accountability and justice.
"Porke't bata, hindi sila mananagot?" asked the grandmother of one of the victims in a video shared online by 24 Oras anchor Emil Sumangil, worrying the shooters would go free because they are minors.
"Tapos 'yung mga... nagbigay ng mga baril sa kanila, 'yung mga tiyahin nila o tatay nila, paano 'yun, ganun na lang ba 'yun? Wala bang hustisya?" she added.
"Napakabait ng apo ko. Wala siyang record sa eskwelahan. Baon niya, binibigay niya sa mga kaklase niya. Bakit ngayon, naging ganyan 'yung apo ko? Ano'ng gagawin namin? Paano po ito? Tulungan niyo po kaming magkaroon ng hustisya 'yung apo ko," the grandmother continued.
"Iniwan namin 'yung probinsya namin para makahanap-buhay kami dito at mabigyan ng magandang kinabukasan 'yung mga apo ko. Tapos ngayon, paano pa niya matitikman 'yun? Andiyan na siya. Asan ang hustisya dito?" she said.
More tersely, but with equal fervor, Jennelyn Badoria, whose daughter was one of the victims, told AFP she's demanding charges be placed against the owners of the guns used by the two suspects during the shooting.
"I'm asking that the gun owners be charged, because the guns wouldn't have ended up in the children's hands if it weren't for them," she said.
By the law
Because of the young age of the shooters, which police reported to be 14 and 15, senators, including Sen. Robin Padilla and Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, brought renewed focus to the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, particularly its clause on the minimum age of criminal responsibility.
According to the law, lifted from the Supreme Court e-Library, children 15 years old and below "shall be exempt from criminal liability. However, the child shall be subjected to an intervention program pursuant to Section 20 of this Act." Nonetheless, the law continues, "The exemption from criminal liability herein established does not include exemption from civil liability, which shall be enforced in accordance with existing laws."
Speaking to reporters after the shooting incident, Padilla asked his colleagues to consider lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 10.
"Sana bigyan naman niyo ng panahon at pagkakataon 'yung aking panukala. I-amend na natin 'yang Juvenile ano na 'yan kasi talagang ang dami na, eh. Nasa mukha na natin, eh," Padilla said. "Kung ganito na, na nagagaya na tayo sa America, na may namamaril na sa loob ng paaralan, siguro ito 'yung panahon na talagang kung sisiryusohin natin ito, ito 'yung pang-special session."
Pangilinan, who is the principal author of the Act, countered that the law holds children accountable who break the law, albeit with a greater focus on reform than adult-level punishment.
"May pananagutan. May proseso. May mga intervention upang matiyak na hindi na ito mauulit," Pangilinan wrote in a statement shared online. "Iligal ang pakawalan ang menor de edad na nasangkot sa krimen at may parusa sa mga gagawa nito."
The senator added accountability must also be extended toward the parents of child suspects while the government works to help victims and their families.
"May pananagutan din ang mga magulang. May tungkulin naman ang pamahalaan—sa pamamagitan ng DSWD—na magbigay ng suporta sa mga biktima, kanilang mga pamilya," Pangilinan added.
"Hindi tama na hindi mapapanagot ang menor de edad na nagkasala," he continued in a later post. "Walang lugar ang karahasan sa ating lipunan, lalong-lalo na sa mga lugar na dapat ay ligtas para sa mga bata."
