THE recent string of violent incidents involving students has understandably alarmed parents, educators, law enforcement and the public. Within a matter of days, a school shooting in Tacloban City left children dead, injured or traumatized; a Grade 11 student was stabbed by a schoolmate in Cavite City; and a knife attack in General Trias injured seven students. These are tragic incidents that demand action. Yet they also demand something often missing whenever such events occur: understanding.
The immediate reaction of many is to search for a convenient explanation. Some blame social media. Others point to violent video games.
Still others blame the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act. Some even conclude that today’s youth have simply become more violent and less disciplined than previous generations. Unfortunately, these explanations rarely help us understand what is actually happening.
Youth violence is almost never caused by a single factor. It is usually the result of multiple failures occurring simultaneously: in families, schools, communities, social institutions and in the broader culture that surrounds our children. When a student brings a knife to school and attacks classmates, the question should not only be how the weapon was acquired. We must also ask what emotional, psychological and social conditions produced the anger, alienation or despair that made such an act possible. Similarly, when a student shoots schoolmates, the question is not merely whether security measures were adequate. We must ask what warning signs were missed, what interventions failed and whether opportunities existed to prevent the tragedy.
Public discussions often focus only on the final act of violence while ignoring the long chain of circumstances that preceded it. Most serious incidents are preceded by personal struggles, unresolved conflicts, emotional distress, exposure to aggression or social isolation. Understanding these deeper causes does not diminish the gravity of the crime. Rather, it allows us to confront the problem honestly and develop solutions that address causes rather than symptoms.
Many young people today are growing up in environments marked by intense social pressures. Families are increasingly fragmented. Parents are often absent because economic realities require them to work long hours or seek employment far from home. Many children spend more time online than interacting face-to-face with parents, teachers, relatives or friends. Bullying has likewise evolved beyond the schoolyard. Through social media, humiliation, harassment and exclusion can follow students home around the clock.
Mental health challenges among young people have also become more visible. Anxiety, depression, loneliness and social isolation are now common concerns. Yet access to counseling and mental health support remains severely inadequate in many schools, where guidance counselors are responsible for hundreds or even thousands of students. Teachers are already burdened with administrative requirements and large class sizes. Many simply do not have the time, training or resources to identify students who may be struggling. When support systems become overstretched, vulnerable young people can easily fall through the cracks.
This is why it is problematic when some immediately blame the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act whenever a crime is committed by a minor. Juvenile crime existed long before the law was enacted. The law did not create youth violence. What it created was a framework that recognizes the developmental differences between children and adults while emphasizing rehabilitation alongside accountability. To argue that the law causes youth crime is to confuse the existence of a problem with its source.
Indeed, many young offenders are themselves victims before they become offenders. Some are victims of neglect, others of abuse or poverty. Others come from environments where violence has been normalized and aggression treated as a legitimate way of resolving conflict. This is compounded by a culture of impunity, particularly the culture of violence openly celebrated during the Duterte presidency, where brute force and killing were often portrayed as legitimate means of dealing with perceived enemies. Such messages, repeatedly amplified in public discourse, shape social norms and influence how young people understand power, conflict and accountability.
Recognizing these realities does not excuse criminal behavior. Accountability remains essential. Society has an obligation to protect victims and ensure public safety. Yet accountability alone cannot solve the problem. If our only response to youth violence is punishment, we will merely react to tragedies after they occur rather than prevent them. Punishment addresses consequences. Prevention addresses causes.
The more important challenge is prevention. Schools must strengthen counseling and mental health services. Teachers must be trained to identify students showing signs of emotional distress, social withdrawal, severe bullying or violent tendencies. Parents must be encouraged to engage more actively in their children’s lives, online and off. Communities must recognize that youth violence is not solely a school problem. It is a societal problem.
The values children learn at home, the behavior they observe in public life, the rhetoric they encounter online and the examples set by adults all shape their understanding of acceptable behavior. It is difficult to teach children nonviolence when they live in a culture saturated with hostility, aggression, public shaming and the glorification of violence as an instrument of authority. When political leaders model contempt for due process and celebrate coercion as strength, the lessons absorbed by society do not disappear when administrations change. They linger in institutions and everyday interactions.
The recent incidents should serve as a wake-up call. More security measures, better law enforcement coordination and stronger discipline may all have a role. Yet none will suffice if we fail to address the social, psychological, cultural and institutional conditions that allow violence to take root. Every act of school violence represents not only an individual failure but also a collective one. Somewhere along the way, warning signs were missed, support systems failed and opportunities for intervention were lost. The challenge before us is not merely to punish those responsible after the fact. It is to build families, schools, communities and institutions capable of identifying problems early, providing meaningful support and preventing young people from reaching the point where violence appears to be an option. Only then can we move beyond outrage toward genuine solutions.
The author is a professor at the University of the Philippines Los Baños and vice chairman of the board of state-run PTVNI.
