Imported violence, ignored causes

Filipinos have long been accustomed to borrowing trends from abroad, from fashion and entertainment to technology and social media. Unfortunately, the country is now witnessing the arrival of a far more dangerous import: the phenomenon of school violence and shootings that have become tragically familiar in the United States.

What was once limited to isolated cases of bullying has evolved into a more alarming pattern involving knives, firearms, gang-like assaults, and premeditated attacks among students. The instinctive reaction of government is often to search for easy targets—overcrowded classrooms, underpaid teachers, inadequate school facilities, or proposals to lower the age of criminal responsibility. While these issues deserve attention, they fail to address the deeper causes of youth violence.

Psychologists point to the erosion of the family unit, weakening values systems, declining community accountability, and the normalization of aggression through digital platforms. These factors shape behavior long before a child enters a classroom. Millions of Filipino parents work overseas or spend long hours away from home because quality jobs remain scarce locally. While labor migration sustains the economy through remittances, it also creates social costs that are rarely acknowledged. Children raised with limited parental guidance become more vulnerable to unhealthy influences online and in their peer groups.

Social media algorithms reward outrage, conflict, and sensational content. Violent games, videos, and online communities can reinforce aggressive tendencies, especially among young people already struggling with emotional or social instability. The result is a generation increasingly exposed to violence as entertainment and conflict resolution.

Government’s response remains myopic. Lowering the age of criminal responsibility without addressing family disengagement, community fragmentation, and digital conditioning merely treats the symptom rather than the disease.

Policymakers should instead consider differentiated accountability thresholds that recognize the seriousness of grave crimes while preserving rehabilitation, restorative justice, and victim rights.

Preventing future school shootings requires a broader vision. Stronger families, engaged communities, responsible digital environments, and meaningful opportunities for parents to remain with their children are far more effective safeguards than punitive laws alone. Unless these root causes are confronted, incidents of school violence may become not the exception, but the norm.