MANILA, Philippines — Two Senate committees will start this week the investigation on the Tacloban school shooting incident as some sectors sought to further amend the juvenile justice law.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chairman of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, said she will hold the inquiry on July 1.
The senator aims to determine the circumstances that led to the shooting incident at San Jose National High School that led to the death of three students.
Hontiveros said she hopes to examine the broader chain of failures that may have contributed to the June 22 shooting, including possible grooming, radicalization, and normalization of violence in online platforms.
She invited the Germany-based developer of Gorebox, the video game linked by authorities to the Tacloban school shooting investigation.
But Felix Filip, who identified himself as a Germany-based independent game developer, informed the committee through email that he would not attend the hearing, either in person or through Zoom.
Hontiveros said she will seek the assistance of the German Embassy in Manila to facilitate the participation of Filip in the Senate inquiry.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo, chairman of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development, said he will "conduct a total review" of the implementation of Republic Act 9344 or the “Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.”
He said the legislative scrutiny comes in the wake of alarming, high-profile crimes involving minors such as the Tacloban shootout and the stabbing incidents in Negros Occidental and Cavite.
“This review will cover all bases. We are actively getting insights from law experts, law enforcement, social welfare groups, the church, medical professionals, and parents themselves," Tulfo said in a statement.
The senator noted that he had "repeatedly raised the alarm about the implementation of this law because on a practical sense, there are really glaring gaps in its implementation.
He said the panel’s review will "zero in on the severe shortage" of functional Bahay Pag-asa (House of Hope) facilities, the effectiveness of intervention programs for Children in Conflict with the Law (CICL) and children at risk, and the enforcement of strict parental accountability, among other issues.
“Is the age threshold on criminal liability still realistic given the signs of the times? Are parents of these CICLs being held accountable enough? Are the rehabilitation facilities even existing, let alone working?” he asked.
