The two recent school shootings that has taken place in the country highlights the need for heftier penalties and greater accountability for firearm owners whose negligence allows children to access guns.

Bukidnon 3rd district Rep. Audrey Kay Zubiri aired this position over the weekend, as she lamented the total five student deaths caused by the school shootings first in Tacloban City and then in Zamboanga City

The firearms used were reportedly linked to adults, including a police officer and a customs official.

“While I understand the importance of having a gun at home, I cannot understand how it can be so easily accessed by children, especially minors. Hindi ko maimagine mawala ‘yung anak ko na minahal at inalagaan ko ng ilang taon dahil sa kapabayaan ng isang gun-owner,” Zubiri said.

(I cannot imagine losing my child, whom I loved and cared for for years, because of the negligence of a gun owner.)

The neophyte congresswomen said the incidents highlight the need to look beyond firearm licensing and registration and examine how guns are stored at home.

“At this moment, I think the burden lies on the parents and not only what the children consume from media anymore. These firearms are becoming more accessible even to children,” she said.

Republic Act (RA) No. 10591, or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, requires firearm license holders to use a vault, locked container or other security measures for safekeeping.

Zubiri, however, stated that the law lacks a clear penalty for improper storage.

“Our schools should be places where children feel safe—not places where they have to fear a firearm that should never have reached them. I call on my fellow legislators to act on this matter—not only to punish wrongdoing, but to prevent tragedies and protect our children before this becomes a trend,” she said.

Zubiri stressed that stronger safe-storage rules are not intended to prevent responsible citizens from legally owning firearms, but to reinforce the duty and standard of care that comes with gun ownership.