President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (Mark Balmores/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Lamenting that the acts of violence occurring in the country are unacceptable, President Marcos ordered authorities to immediately determine the root cause of the tragic gun attack at a school in Tacloban City.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said that acts of violence such as the school shooting incident last week "are no longer acceptable."
Castro underscored the importance of guiding the youth, pointing out that the incident, which claimed young lives, should not be neglected.
In a Palace briefing on Thursday, June 25, Castro said that Marcos wants the root cause of the incident determined immediately.
"[I]niuutos din po ng Pangulo ang agarang pag-determine ano ang nagiging ugat nito, maliban po sa nakita ng Pangulo na may kinalaman ang ibang mga gaming apps na marahas (The President has directed the immediate determination of the root causes of such incidents, aside from his observation that some violent gaming apps may be a contributing factor)," Castro said.
"So, dapat makita po talaga kung saan nagmumula ito, kung nagkakaroon ba ng panggagaya, nagiging para bang normal ang ganitong klase ng karahasan (It should be identified where this behavior is coming from, whether there is imitation involved or whether this kind of violence is becoming normalized)," Castro added.
'Marcos is heartbroken'
The Palace official also revealed that the President was "heartbroken" over the shooting incident perpetrated by two minors, which killed three students.
"Noong nabalitaan nga po ng Pangulo ang nangyari sa Tacloban ay heartbroken, masasabi natin, ang naramdaman ng Pangulo dahil mga bata ang lumalabas na kaya na gumawa ng krimen, kayang magplanong gumawa ng krimen, at mga inosenteng mga kabataan din ang nabibiktima (When the President learned about what happened in Tacloban, he was heartbroken. We can say that he was deeply saddened because it appears that children are capable of committing crimes, planning crimes, and at the same time, innocent young people are becoming victims)," Castro said.