IN the early weeks of school opening in basic education for the school year 2026–2027, two incidents of violence have already been reported in Cavite alone. On June 16, a Grade 8 student indiscriminately stabbed seven schoolmates, and on June 19, a senior high school student was stabbed in a public school, also in Cavite.
Such incidents raise a pressing question: Are our schools still safe? Often, this leads to the question: Who is accountable
While our hearts go out to the victims and their families, as well as to the student offenders and their parents, a difficult question remains: What does the law say about the responsibility and liability of schools, their officials, teachers-in-charge, and parents?
Special parental authority
Under the Family Code of the Philippines and the New Civil Code, schools, their teachers and administrators are given special parental authority over their minor students while the students are under their supervision, instruction, or custody. This gives them broad authority over their students, as if they were their own children. As special parents, teachers-in-charge exercise parental authority over their students, which includes educating them, providing them with moral and spiritual guidance, and imposing discipline on them as may be appropriate under the circumstances. While the law specifically states “child,” jurisprudence holds that a student, regardless of age, is under the special parental authority of schools, and their administrators and teachers.
In loco parentis
While special parental authority grants schools and teachers rights and significant roles, it also makes them directly liable for the negligent and tortious acts of their students while in their custody. In Apolonario v. Heirs of Francisco de los Santos, the teacher-in-charge was held liable when his student, while participating in a school activity, accidentally dropped banana leaves in front of an oncoming motorcycle rider, causing him to lose balance and die. It was held that the teacher-in-charge was negligent when he instructed his student to cut down the banana plant situated along the highway without taking the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of passing motorists and pedestrians.
This embodies the concept of vicarious liability or imputed negligence under civil law. Under this concept, school heads and teachers are liable for the tortious acts of their pupils while the pupils remain in their custody because they stand in loco parentis and are thus called upon to exercise reasonable supervision over the pupils’ conduct.
Schools and teachers-in-charge, however, may avoid liability if it is proved that they exercised the proper diligence required under the particular circumstances.
Presence of a teacher-in-charge
In the two stabbing incidents in Cavite, a key factor in determining liability is whether there was a teacher-in-charge at the time. Please note, however, that the absence of a teacher-in-charge alone does not create liability. In Amadora v. Court of Appeals, the school was absolved from liability for the fatal shooting by a student of his classmate while inside the school auditorium in the absence of a designated teacher-in-charge to supervise the students. In this case, the students were just inside the auditorium, but the school year had already ended. This explains why the teacher was not present when the shooting happened. It was also held that school officials cannot be held liable because none of them was the teacher-in-charge. Each of them exercised only general authority over the student body, not the direct control and influence exerted by the teacher in charge of particular classes or sections.
Thus, an important question needs to be answered in the recent stabbing incidents in Cavite: Who was the teacher-in-charge? Are they supposed to be supervising the students when the incidents happened? Was there laxness in enforcing student discipline on the student assailants? Was the negligence directly linked to the stabbing incidents?
Parental role
Parents, under the law, are merely subsidiarily liable for the tortious acts of their minor children when the children are in the custody and supervision of schools and teachers.
The recent incidents of violence, however, raise concerns over the duty of parents in coordinating and cooperating with schools in the implementation of school policies, particularly over the discipline of students. A stabbing incident where a student brings a deadly weapon to school and randomly hacks other students must be investigated not only for a lapse of school security, but equally important is how the parents are guiding their children and how the latter were able to access such weapons despite policies, handbook and constant reminders from the school to parents and students.
Wake-up call
Ultimately, these incidents in Cavite should not be dismissed as isolated cases. It must serve as a warning that our educational system is not only in crisis but also under strain.
Schools and teachers stand in loco parentis, and must be able to exercise vigilance, impose appropriate discipline, and ensure a safe learning environment. Parents, while only subsidiarily liable in the eyes of the law when children are in school, cannot be passive bystanders in the formation of their children’s values, habits and attitudes toward violence. Both must work in partnership and not in hostility.
Addressing school violence requires more than stricter security measures. Schools should be allowed to proactively develop systems to identify and intervene in violent or disruptive behavior before it escalates or at the earliest stage of its manifestation, including during the admission process. Schools must have sufficient registered guidance counselors and key support services. Lawmakers and administrators must review existing laws and regulations to ensure they both protect children and empower schools to enforce discipline and build positive values. It is crucial for parents to actively partner with schools in monitoring and guiding their children’s behavior. Through direct collaboration and shared responsibility, we can create safer, more supportive schools.
