Senators on Wednesday, August 19 called for tighter safeguards on firearms access following the shooting incident at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University on Tuesday.

One of the firearms used in the Ateneo de Zamboanga University shooting (Screenshot from livestream)

Senator Loren Legarda said these successive incidents of school violence—in Cavite, Tacloban, Bacolod and now Zamboanga—demand a serious response.

“We need to confront the access to firearms that makes such violence possible. Guns must not be easily accessible, especially to minors and unauthorized individuals,” Legarda stressed.

“We need stricter enforcement of our gun laws and stronger safeguards to keep firearms out of our schools and away from those who should never have access to them,” she pointed out.

Legarda made the call following reports that the shooter, a Grade 9 student in the AdZU junior high school, was armed with a 9mm Glock pistol shot, which he used to kill a fellow student and himself.

Investigators said the shooter brought two 9mm pistols in the campus, one with casing accessories, which were both recovered after the incident.

Later, it was said that the shooter’s father, a Bureau of Customs (BOC) official, is the district commander of the Port of Zamboanga Enforcement and Security Services.

Legarda said it is imperative to determine how the firearm used in this incident was obtained.

“If there are gaps in our laws, then we must close them. If the problem is enforcement, then authorities must enforce them strictly and without exception. Ownership of firearms comes with serious responsibilities, particularly the duty to ensure that they cannot be accessed by children or other unauthorized persons,” she said.

“Our schools must be places where children are safe to learn and teachers are safe to teach. No student should be able to walk into a school carrying a gun. No firearm should be within easy reach of a child. Preventing this requires responsibility from gun owners, vigilance from authorities, and strict compliance with our laws on the possession, storage, carrying, and transfer of firearms,” the senator stressed.

“We must also examine the influences surrounding our young people, including how violence is portrayed and normalized online and offline. But whatever the circumstances behind these incidents, we cannot ignore the deadly consequence when a young person gains access to a firearm,” she said.

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero also said that despite the Senate’s heavy workload—including its role as an impeachment trial court and the multitude of pending bills—"we cannot set aside issues that have immediate implications for the safety of our youth.”

“The series of violent incidents involving the youth in recent months—from stabbing cases in Cavite to shootings in Tacloban and Zamboanga—clearly signals a deepening social problem,” Escudero pointed out.

“These issues encompass gun safekeeping, school security, mental health, and the youth's constant exposure to violent online content and e-games. This can no longer be ignored,” he said.

Escudero said lawmakers should include a review of Republic Act No. 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, among its priority bills.

“While the law contains mechanisms for the accountability and rehabilitation of minors who break the law, if there are gaps in its implementation, it is our duty to identify and rectify them,” Escudero said.

“We need to act fast. Lawmakers must be open to change and seize the opportunity to refine and expedite the legislative process, ensuring that the laws we pass better serve the interests of our country and its people—especially the youth. If existing laws no longer meet the demands of the times, it is our duty to amend and adapt them,” he said.