Victims’ kin want both teen suspects charged over campus slays

TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE, Philippines — The mothers of two students killed in the June 22 mass shooting at San Jose National High School are demanding justice for their children, saying both teenage suspects should be held fully accountable for an attack that left three students dead and 20 others injured.

Their appeal came as authorities formally filed murder and frustrated murder charges against the 15-year-old suspect while acknowledging that the younger suspect, who is 14 years old, cannot be held criminally liable under Republic Act No. 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act.

For Erbea Fabian and Jenny Baldoria, whose children were among those killed in Monday’s shooting, the prospect that one of the alleged gunmen may escape prosecution has deepened their grief.

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“While I am angry with the 15-year-old suspect, the other suspect should also be held liable,” Fabian, mother of 15-year-old Chris Lorenz Fabian, told the Inquirer. “He was the one who did most of the shooting. He was the one who killed Chris.”

Police on Tuesday filed three counts of murder, three counts of frustrated murder, and multiple counts of serious physical injuries against the 15-year-old suspect before the Tacloban City Prosecutor’s Office.

Justice out of reach?

The 14-year-old suspect, however, is exempt from criminal liability under existing law because children below 15 years old are considered incapable of criminal intent and are instead subjected to intervention and rehabilitation programs.

READ: Permanent ban on violent video games pressed after Tacloban shooting

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Both boys are currently under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and are being housed at the agency’s Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth in Tanauan, Leyte.

Fabian questioned why the younger suspect could not face charges despite accounts from surviving students identifying him as one of the principal shooters.

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“He’s already 14 and will soon turn 15,” she said.

She also pointed to screenshots of an alleged online conversation between the two suspects, which she said suggested the younger boy had pushed for the attack.

“It seemed like the 15-year-old was only being pressured,” she said.

The revelation has been particularly difficult for Fabian, who recalled that the older suspect had once defended her son from bullies when they were classmates in Grade 9. Both boys were members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.

Her sentiments were echoed by Jenny Baldoria, mother of 16-year-old Joyancee “Yancee” Separa.

“For me, they should be punished for what they did to Yancee,” Baldoria said.

Mothers’ grief

She believes the 14-year-old suspect was responsible for her daughter’s death.

“How can I forgive him when he was the one who killed my Yancee?” she said.

Baldoria described her daughter as a quiet and hardworking student who had recently become determined to excel in school.

“She promised me that she would earn honors this year,” Baldoria recalled. “She even chose to sit in the front row so she could better understand her lessons.”

Joyancee had dreamed of pursuing a computer-related course in college.

“It is difficult to accept that just when she was taking her studies seriously, this tragedy happened,” her mother said.

The shooting unfolded Monday morning inside the school campus, triggering panic among students and teachers. Fifteen of the victims suffered gunshot wounds while others were injured during the stampede and chaos that followed.

The fatalities were identified as Chris Lorenz Fabian, Joyancee Separa and 14-year-old Nicole Daza, a Grade 9 student.

Fabian and Separa are neighbors in Barangay Cogon while Daza is from Barangay Taguictik, all in San Jose District.

Both Fabian and Baldoria rushed to the school after hearing reports of gunfire. For hours, they searched hospitals across Tacloban City hoping their children had survived.

Their fears were confirmed late in the afternoon when they learned their children were among the dead.

“I wanted to kiss Chris one last time, but the Scene of the Crime Operatives stopped me,” Fabian recalled.

On the morning of the shooting, Baldoria had already left for work as a house helper in a nearby village and was unable to see her daughter before she went to school. Her common-law husband works as a construction worker.

“I wasn’t even able to kiss or hug her goodbye,” she said through tears.

Fabian considers herself fortunate. to have shared a final embrace with her son.

On the day of the attack, she personally accompanied Chris Lorenz and his younger brother, a Grade 7 student at the same school, as they left for class.

Chris Lorenz has since been hailed by classmates and residents as a hero after reports emerged that he tried to shield fellow students during the attack.

The families are now preparing for the funerals. Chris Lorenz will be buried on June 30, while Joyancee will be laid to rest on July 1.

Even before the funerals, both mothers say they are already struggling with the emptiness left behind by the loss of their children.

Instead of watching them graduate, pursue their dreams, and build their futures, they are now preparing to accompany them to their final resting places.

Questions over guns

“It is painful to think that I was supposed to go before her. I always believed that when I grew old, she would be the one taking care of me,” Baldoria said.

The tragedy, one of the deadliest school attacks in the country’s recent history, has also prompted calls for stricter accountability among gun owners after investigators traced the firearms allegedly used in the attack to a police officer and a private security agency.

Authorities said the 14-year-old suspect allegedly used a 9mm pistol owned by his aunt, a police staff sergeant, while the 15-year-old suspect allegedly carried a .38-caliber revolver registered to a Cebu-based security agency.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Thursday urged Congress to amend firearms regulations to impose greater liability on gun owners whose weapons are used in crimes.

“Someone has to be held liable,” Remulla said, noting that the current legal framework leaves limited options for prosecuting those responsible for allowing firearms to fall into the wrong hands.

Philippine National Police spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co said the police officer who owned one of the guns may face criminal, administrative and licensing sanctions for failing to secure and report the firearm.

The security agency linked to the second weapon could also face sanctions, including possible revocation of its license to operate.

Push for reforms

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. has likewise ordered a review of firearms regulations following the shooting, citing possible loopholes that may have allowed minors to gain access to the weapons.

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“The instruction is to look deeper into this and find out other possible loopholes of the existing firearms regulations that are possibly being taken advantage of by erring groups and individuals,” Nartatez said in a statement on Thursday. /cb