Jonvic seeks Juvenile Justice Law amendment after Tacloban school incident
By Chito Chavez
Following the tragic school shooting incident at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Juanito Victor “Jonvic’’ Remulla strongly called for amendments in the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.
Remulla claimed that minors are supposedly used as drug couriers to escape charges when caught.
“Because in the Juvenile Justice Law, what we saw, flaws in our studies is that juveniles are now being used as drug couriers so that if they are caught, they cannot be charged,’’ Remulla explained.
“So we are going to review with Congress if that can be reviewed,’’he added.
He noted that no specific recommendation yet has been made on what age is the possible scope of the review.
On Monday, June 22, two Grade 9 students aged 14 and 15 reportedly entered San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte and opened fire at their fellow students.
The violent attack occurred at around 9:20 a.m., creating chaos where students and teachers were sent scrambling for safety as repeated gunshots rang out in the school with over 1,600 students and more than 110 teachers.
Remulla insisted that strategic school safety measures coupled with early violent intervention plans of action are the only viable options amid the deeply concerning tragic incidents.
He asserted that these strategic maneuvers should come with a reinforced community based violent prevention efforts in the wake of the San Jose National High School shooting incident which occurred a couple of days in the twin school stabbing incidents in Cavite City.
“No learner, teacher, or school personnel should have to fear for their safety inside an institution dedicated to education and personal development. Schools must remain places of learning, opportunity, and hope, not venues of violence,’’ Remulla said.