Following a deadly shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, where three people were killed and 20 others wounded, schools across the country have swiftly implemented inspections of students' belongings. The aim is to prevent weapons and other sharp objects from entering school premises.
Immediate Measures: Bag Checks and Cellphone Ban
The Department of Education in Lapu-Lapu City has ordered routine bag checks, while the municipality of Dumanjug has imposed an urgent total cellphone ban in its schools. These measures are deemed necessary to enhance security and discipline.
Banning cellphone use inside schools is appropriate and correct. Apart from being a distraction to studies, cellphones serve as a gateway to various social media games that harm the minds of young people—such as Mobile Legends (ML) and the gambling game 'scatter,' which also captivates adults. Through cellphones, obscene images and violent videos are easily accessible.
Connection to Violent Games
For instance, police investigation into one of the suspects in the Tacloban incident revealed that he was fond of playing a game called 'GoreBox.' According to internet research, GoreBox is a chaotic, physics-driven sandbox game where creativity meets unrestrained destruction. In other words, it is a chaotic and extremely violent game where creativity meets unlimited destruction and devastation.
Alias Rod and another suspect identified as alias Nash, 14, both Grade 9 students, opened fire inside their school on June 22. Now that the 15-year-old suspect alias Rod has been charged with murder and frustrated murder, the heated discussion about Republic Act 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, has been reopened.
Juvenile Justice Law Under Scrutiny
According to the police, the minors planned the crime for a month. Our system became more alarming when it was discovered that the suspects were aware that they could not be easily imprisoned due to the provisions of that law. Under RA 9344, the 14-year-old suspect cannot be easily charged with criminal liability because the law clearly exempts children aged 15 and below from criminal liability.
This is the bitter truth: if a child already knows how to exploit the loopholes of the law to favor his evil deeds, it is clear that he already has discernment or proper understanding of his actions. The law was created to protect children from exploitative adults, but it should not serve as a shield or license for killers to escape justice.
