Father Shay Cullen
Widespread debate and publicity have followed the shocking shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on June 22, which left three students dead and 20 others injured. We offer our prayers and condolences to their families and stand in solidarity with the victims. There can be no excuse for such violence. We must examine the circumstances that led the perpetrators, aged 14 and 15, to commit this heinous crime and work to prevent its recurrence.
The two teenagers used weapons made accessible by negligent and irresponsible adults. The 14-year-old used a Glock 9mm pistol belonging to his aunt, an active-duty police officer who had previously taught him how to shoot. Meanwhile, the 15-year-old carried a .38-calibre revolver registered to a security agency in Cebu City. The fact that they were able to obtain these weapons highlights just how readily available such firearms are.
Such “random” shootings by minors are extremely rare in the Philippines. It is adults who enable young people to use firearms. These adults have fostered a culture of violence that results in regular and frequently deadly shootings, particularly in the provinces, which often affect children. Yet there is no public outcry over the more than 4,000 murders committed by adults every year.
It is the physical, verbal, psychological, and sexual violence perpetrated by adults against children that has harmed the youth. There is no outcry or mass protest against this either. Adults have created a culture of violence and murder through their poor example, and the public has largely remained apathetic. We have yet to hear a media outlet, police officer, or senator loudly protesting the widespread sexual abuse and human trafficking of minors by adults. Approximately two million Filipino children are subjected to online sexual abuse, violence, and exploitation annually, and nearly one in five children aged 13 to 17 have experienced child sexual abuse in their home or community in a single year, according to United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF] research.
It is the physical, verbal, psychological, and sexual violence perpetrated by adults against children that has harmed the youth
The two teenage shooters were likely influenced by the gun violence associated with former president, Rodrigo Duterte, whom some online posts claim they admired. During his term, police were responsible for the brutal shooting of 6,252 civilians and were granted immunity. Research by major international human rights organisations estimates that the total number of deaths resulting from the Duterte administration’s war on drugs exceeds 30,000. There was no widespread public outrage as the bodies accumulated. Now, Duterte is set to be tried at the International Criminal Court [ICC] in The Hague. He allegedly ordered, even on live television, the killing of anyone suspected of wrongdoing.
It is amazing that out of a teenage population of 4.7 million, only two committed such horrific crimes influenced by the poor example of adults. Yet some lawmakers have sought to label all children as potential criminals by lowering the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 10 years old. The real criminals are the adults in positions of influence who can kill with impunity in a society conditioned to silently accept the corruption and violence perpetrated by those armed with guns and power.
Death squads
What should shock the nation more is what is unfolding at the ICC, where evidence of the horrific killings of thousands of innocent Filipino civilians, allegedly by Duterte’s “death squads”, is being presented to a panel of international judges. Even more disturbing is that these events were allowed to happen, cheered on by thousands of Duterte supporters, while so few Filipinos spoke out against the killings.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
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Perhaps the uncontrolled Internet access that enables the sexual abuse of two million Filipino children each year, and continues to promote online “Killing Games”, is the “influencer” that has fostered this “culture of acceptability” within the population—one that allows and even ignores violent crimes by adults. Police in Tacloban linked the 14-year-old suspect to an obsession with a highly violent, Internet-based mobile game called GoreBox, which features graphic gun violence and allows players to kill people with impunity.
It is amazing that out of a teenage population of 4.7 million, only two committed such horrific crimes influenced by the poor example of adults
Tens of thousands of Filipinos play the highly popular “Call of Duty” and other games such as “League of Legends”, “Counter-Strike”, and “Apex Legends”. The primary objective in these violent games is to kill opponents. Are these games fostering a culture that normalises deaths by shooting in the Philippines? The lethal weapon becomes a virtual, high-powered gun moving across the screen, targeting opponents who are being hunted. Players fire and kill their “enemies” to earn “kill scores”.
Players—adults and teenagers alike—seemingly enjoy virtual “killing” and see nothing wrong or immoral in deriving pleasure from what is a criminal, albeit virtual, act. Is this what motivated the two teenagers in Tacloban? Playing such games is a significant cultural phenomenon on smartphones in the Philippines, with many thousands participating day and night. While it may be immoral, it remains legal.
There are “Call of Duty” killing tournaments, and similar games centred on gun violence are equally popular, offering monetary prizes to winners. Has this phenomenon of killer games created a population conditioned to accept and even cheer on the killing sprees of “death squads” and taught our children that it is acceptable to “kill” people virtually? This diminishes the value of human life and conditions children to accept gun violence as a normal part of daily life.
The school shooters told investigators they were victims of bullying. UNICEF reported that one in three children experienced psychological or verbal violence and bullying in school. Approximately two in five children—at least 33 per cent—reported being victims of online bullying and subjected to cyberviolence, including digital verbal abuse and unsolicited sexual messaging from both adults and peers.
Has this phenomenon of killer games created a population conditioned to accept and even cheer on the killing sprees of ‘death squads’ and taught our children that it is acceptable to ‘kill’ people virtually? This diminishes the value of human life and conditions children to accept gun violence as a normal part of daily life
If this culture of violence persists and becomes more socially acceptable, Filipino children face a bleak future, with increased street and school gun violence likely to erupt, as has occurred in the United States, where there were 1,455 gun-related incidents in schools between 2021 and 2025, leaving over 350 teachers and students dead and more than 800 injured.
What is urgently needed is to strongly promote the value of life, provide positive alternatives, and advocate for values-based and educational games for young people, with tournaments and significant prizes as incentives.
We can improve our community by standing against evil and choosing to do good.
