Proactive and involved parenting is crucial in stopping student violence within academic institutions, according to Senator Erwin Tulfo.
On Sunday, August 23, the lawmaker urged parents and guardians to build genuine communication channels with their children rather than relying solely on digital devices to monitor their well-being.
The senator’s appeal comes after a Grade 9 student in Pinamungajan, Cebu, was found carrying a firearm in their school bag—an incident that occurred shortly after a fatal shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University (ADZU) left two students dead and nine others wounded.
Local authorities confirmed the gun recovered in Cebu belonged to the student’s grandfather.
“It really starts at home. What made these kids think that it’s alright to bring weapons at school?” Tulfo said.
“This should be a lesson for everybody, for every parent, guardian out there. Please, please talk to your children, talk to your child. We should ask if they’re okay and really know what’s going on inside their mind,” he added.
Tulfo, who chairs the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development, highlighted that children are not born with violent inclinations.
“There are so many instances that can trigger their violence and we cannot guide them toward the right track if we do not start dealing with them genuinely,” he noted.
Addressing the issue of youth accessing dangerous weapons, Tulfo declared that gun owners who carelessly leave firearms within a child’s reach must face direct accountability.
He confirmed he is drafting legislative measures to enforce criminal liability on negligent firearm owners and custodians.
“We cannot wait for another fatality or more collateral damage. There has to be a law that will strengthen the existing framework on firearm ownership,” Tulfo said.
“The intention is clear: ensure that every child will not have access to a firearm, gun-owning parents and guardians practice responsible ownership, and that no firearm entrusted to either a public or private individual, will ever become an instrument of tragedy in the hands of a child,” he concluded.