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| 3 students died and 20 others injured in the shooting at this high school in Tacloban |
Philippine Police have formally filed murder,
frustrated murder and physical injuries complaints against a 15-year-old male
suspect who allegedly conspired with a 14-year-old fellow student to randomly
shoot people at San Jose National High School in Tacloban, Leyte at about
9:30am on Monday, June 22.
The shootings left three students dead and injured 20
others, with three in serious condition. Police are still trying to determine
what prompted the two to open fire, about an hour after the school had its flag
ceremony.
The filing of complaints was made after social workers
determined that the 15-year-old suspect acted with discernment.
Under the Philippines’ RA 9344 or the Juvenile Justice
and Welfare Act, it is mandatory for the Social Welfare and Development Office
to first determine if a minor suspect aged between 15 and 18 years old had
acted with discernment before any criminal complaint could be filed.
The same law provides that the younger suspect who
reportedly fired more shots, could not be held criminally liable.
A police spokesman said that the 15-year-old suspect was
charged with three counts of murder, three counts of frustrated murder and
multiple counts of serious physical injuries as a result of the mass shooting.
But he clarified that even if the young suspect technically
called “child in conflict with the law” is eventually convicted, a suspended
sentence will be imposed. During this period, the child will be committed to a
rehabilitation facility where he will undergo intervention and diversion programs under
the supervision of social workers.
This
rehabilitation will continue until he reaches the age of 21, when social
workers will assess whether the intervention has been successful. If he is
deemed fully reformed and rehabilitated he will be freed; if not he will be
ordered to serve the remaining period of his sentence.
The
police said that the 14-year-old on the other hand, will be referred to social
workers for intervention and rehabilitation but could not be held criminally
liable for what he did as lack of discernment is automatically presumed. This
intervention will continue only for as long as the child is deemed to need it.
The
possibility of filing criminal complaints against the parents of the two minors
is also being considered on the ground that they neglected to provide proper
guidance to their children. Civil liability is however, almost certain to be
filed against them by the families of the victims.
The
tragedy has renewed debates on whether the age threshold for exempting minors
should be lowered especially when heinous crimes are committed. Senator Robin
Padilla urged that it be lowered to 10 years old, which is way below the age
most countries provide exemption for.
Earlier
reports said one of guns used in the shooting belonged to a police officer who
is an aunt of one of the minors, while the other was licensed to a security
agency where the grandfather of the other minor worked.
Relatives
of the victims are calling for the owners of the firearms to be also held
accountable for alleged negligence which resulted in the two boys gaining
access to them.
Authorities,
meanwhile, have issued a temporary ban on the sandbox video game GoreBox, which
the 14-year-old suspect had regularly played.
The
app which was launched in 2023 and can be downloaded on PCs and Android
devices, markets itself as “a physics-driven sandbox game where creativity
meets unrestrained destruction.”
However,
unlike other shooting games that uses very realistic graphics, Gorebox uses blocky
animation, similar to Roblox and Minecraft.
