THE PAST WEEKS saw the Filipino people witness violent crimes committed by youths aged 15 years old and younger, and bona fide students themselves, killing their fellow students with guns.
At the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, two students, minors aged 15 and 14 years old, shot and killed three students and injured 20 others.
The incident, for purposes of determining the legal implications, may be covered under the 2013 version of the Juvenile and Welfare Act, Republic Act 10630, which states that any child 15 or under at the time of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability.
To the parents of the victims, understandably, the suspects should be held accountable for their crime and given the appropriate punishment.
MINOR OFFENDERS
But in this case, the law has to be followed, such as for minor offenders, the required intervention and rehabilitation programs supervised by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). A more thorough investigation by the PNP, however, pointed to the filing of multiple raps against the 15 years old suspect.
As various views were shared on whether the law on criminal liability must be reviewed and possibly revised, it was clear to many observers that there must have been some triggering factor or factors that drove the two high school students to do what they did.
Netizens, psychologists and other concerned citizens involved in child welfare opined that the main influencers on how minors behave rests principally with the parents – how the mother and father nurture their children within the family.
But in the current Philippine setting with a chaotic corruption-laden administration led by the bungling leadership of a Marcos-Duterte tandem, countless families have to cope with joblessness, homelessness, and daily struggle for a life where there is enough food for the children. And, more especially,keeping the family comfortable and decent enough to enable the parents to inculcate in their homes the basic values of love, caring and sharing within the family, as well as in the community and the society at large.
EDUCATION MATTERS
And as to the formal education that every Filipino father and mother aspire for their children, how holistic and really effective is the system of teaching and learning carried out in the classrooms?
Has the government leadership seriously given the education of Filipino children and youth the primary attention, to build a society where every working-age Filipino is able to find a job or a livelihood, and be productive enough to build a decent home and family?
Everybody knows now how VP Sara Duterte, given the education portfolio by her partner, President Bongbong Marcos, did nothing but waste the people’s money, as The Congress’ Committees on Justice and Good Governance found out in their investigations streamed-live on TV nationwide.
In other words, the society at large has a bearing on how children and youth are nurtured by families, given particularly their economic situation, and how enabling is it for parents to give full attention to inculcating the right family values on their children.
BASIC VALUES
While the government has its free education programs in the grade and high school levels, has it made sure that the teachers have been fully trained to be competent to teach and handle the children and youth holistically? That is, even as they teach the apparent non-social science subjects, are they able somehow to inject basic values of sharing and caring to their wards?
While security concerns must be in-place in schools, the right values inculcated by parents and teachers in children will effectively build their good character and behavior on to becoming adults.