BEYOND the shock-and-awe impact of the June 22 school shooting in Leyte that left three students dead, the stories of the survivors are just as compelling for attention. But they also raise troubling questions.
One of the victims of the Tacloban school shooting was shot by a person he had considered sharing the closest bond with, according to the victim’s sister.
At Wednesday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, Janica Bituin told senators she is still in disbelief that alias Nash, the best friend of her brother Gerric, would shoot him in the back. Gerric was critically injured and is now recuperating at ACE Medical Center.
According to Janica, her younger brother and ‘Nash’ were close friends since they were classmates in Grade 8.
Bright to gloomy
‘Masayahin na kaibigan si Nash [Nash is a jovial friend],’ Janica recalled during the hearing, presided over by committee chair Sen. Risa Hontiveros.
However, Janica recalled that prior to the tragic incident, during the flag ceremony, Nash’s mood was a little different. This was narrated to her by her brother, she said.
Citing her brother’s recollection, Janica said that Gerric’s teacher had asked him to get a sketch pad just before they heard gunshots. Then they realized the chilling sound was ringing out dangerously close to their location.
Later, Janica said that a concerned woman came to their house and informed them that Gerric was severely wounded. The same woman had earlier brought Gerric to the hospital.
Meanwhile, there is much hand-wringing over what could account for Nash’s capacity for violence, when, besides shooting his close friend Gerric, his aunt, who owned the gun he had used, kept telling senators he was a good boy.
Police Staff Sgt. Arla Ray Paciencia admitted, though, that she had brought Nash to the firing range – ‘only once’ – because head expressed a wish to be like her, a cop. When pressed by Sen. Raffy Tulfo if she knew that bringing minors to a firing range is illegal, Paciencia claimed she ‘had no personal knowledge’ of this subject.
What transformed Nash – from being a ‘good’ young man to one who shoots his own close friend twice – may perhaps be partly explained by a confirmation by the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) that the two minors behind the deadly shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City were groomed by 764, a notorious international online network of violent extremists.
CICC Undersecretary Renato Paraiso, speaking to BusinessMirror by phone, said authorities recovered chat logs that established the two teenage perpetrators were active members of 764 and were deliberately recruited and manipulated by the group.
According to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 764 is a nihilistic violent extremist and cybercriminal network that specifically targets minors and vulnerable individuals online.
The group operates through social media platforms and gaming apps, using sextortion, blackmail, and physical coercion to force victims into self-harm, animal cruelty, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) production, and other acts of violence.
Its operations are secretive and invitation-based, making it difficult to monitor and infiltrate, Paraiso said.
Brave survivor
Another student who is still in the hospital is Kaye Lapidario.
Senator Hontiveros, who chairs the Committee, lauded the bravery of Kaye in protecting her classmates from the two suspects who were then walking near their classroom, firing indiscriminately. Kaye rushed to close the door when she was shot.
Unfortunately, according to her father, Rolando, Kaye sustained a gunshot wound on her right hip, and the bullet exited her left leg.
Despite her situation, Rolando said that his daughter was able to send him a text message about the situation and her injuries.
From their farm, Rolando rushed to the school to look for his daughter.
Justice
Jenica, meanwhile, is asking that justice be served for all the victims who died and were injured.
‘Mabigyan ng hustisya [ang] mga na-biktima lalo na sa mga namatayan.
She also condemned content creators who even used AI to create fake news, claiming that her brother was one of the fatalities.
Both Jenica and Rolando have expressed hope that even though the suspects are minors – aged 14 and 15, they should not be excused from facing accountability.
‘[Sana’y] hindi maging hadlang ang pagiging menor de edad para di makulong,’ Janica stressed.
Meanwhile, Rolando is hoping that the minimum age of criminal responsibility would be lowered from 15 to 12.
‘Para di na pamarisan ang pagawa ng krimen. Kasi kung di ibaba, mamimihasa dahil hindi sila makukulong [So that no one will follow their example in committing crime. Because if it’s not lowered, they will be emboldened further as they know they won’t be jailed],’ Rolando lamented. With earlier report by Lorenz Marasigan