Legarda: Tacloban school shooting highlights youth issues needing action

MANILA, Philippines — Following a fatal shooting at a high school in Tacloban City, Sen. Loren Legarda on Monday called for intensified efforts to address youth challenges, including violence, mental health, and access to firearms.

READ: Gatchalian outraged by shooting in Tacloban school: Unacceptable

In a statement, Legarda expressed her condolences to the families of the three individuals who were killed after two Grade 9 students, aged 14 and 15, opened fire in at least two rooms at San Jose National High School in Tacloban.

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READ: Guns in Tacloban shooting belong to suspect’s cop aunt, security agency

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According to Legarda, such acts of violence have no place in schools, which are meant to nurture learning, growth, and hope, as well as keep students safe.

With investigations now ongoing, Legarda said what is “clear” is the need to “intensify efforts to address the challenges” faced by youth, particularly “violence, mental health concerns, and access to firearms.”

“This attack demands that we face a hard and disturbing reality. The suspects are themselves minors. By the time a child has a gun in their hands and carries it into a classroom, the people and systems meant to protect them have already failed,” Legarda said.

“That does not diminish their accountability for their actions and the families of the victims who appeal for justice. But it should make us confront the warning signs we miss, the help that reaches our young people too late, and the ease with which a minor can get hold of a gun,” she added.

Legarda noted that such an incident should never happen again, stressing that it is up to the government to ensure that every student is safe inside their classrooms. /mcm

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