When the Bullied Becomes the Bully

Three teenagers were killed while 20 others were injured when two students opened fire inside at least two classrooms at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte, on Monday morning, June 22. Among those killed are Chris Lorenz Fabian (15), Yancee Separa (15), and Ayessa Nicole Dazo (14).

Based on initial investigations, the suspects are aged 15 (alias Rod, Grade 9) and 14 (alias Nash, Grade 10), who claim to be victims of bullying, based on initial investigations.

"Parang na-bully rin daw ito since Grade 7 at ongoing pa 'yung interview natin together with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) at mga teachers and school officials," Police Regional Office Eastern Visayas (PRO 8) Director Brigadier General Jason Capoy told reporters on Monday.

Two guns, a caliber .38 revolver and a 9mm pistol, were retrieved from the two minors ("Rod" and "Nash," respectively), while up to 40 empty bullet shells were recovered at the crime scene. Philippine National Police (PNP) Public Information Chief Col. Allen Rae Co said in a press briefing that the 9mm Glock was issued to a PRO 8 policewoman, who turned out to be the aunt of one of the suspects. The revolver, which is registered to a security agency in Cebu City, had been in possession of the other suspect's grandfather, who used to work as a security guard. PNP Chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. "expects a solid case that can stand in court" against those who may have enabled the two minors to gain gun access.

The Department of Justice, on Tuesday afternoon, is looking into the possibility that the incident is a "form of extremism, specifically NVE or nihilistic violent extremism," spokesperson Polo Martinez said in a press briefing. NVE, originally coined by federal prosecutors in the U.S., refers to "violent acts lacking an ideological motivation and driven by a misanthropic worldview" (Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2025).

Meanwhile, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) issued the temporary blocking of the online shooting game GoreBox after investigators found out that the younger suspect had been playing the game before the attack.

On social media, the black shirt with the logo of German industrial metal band KMFDM worn by the 14-year-old is the subject of speculation. KMFDM has long been associated with school violence. In 1999, the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre in Colorado cited the band's lyrics. Then, in 2024, a 17-year-old who opened fire at Perry High School in Iowa posted a TikTok accompanied by the band's song "Stray Bullet" before the school shooting. Later in the same year, a 15-year-old student in Wisconsin was wearing a black KMFDM band shirt while at a shooting range prior to killing a teacher and a student. KMFDM has since clarified that "from the beginning, our music has been a statement against war, oppression, fascism, and violence against others."

Initial police probe also shows that the two have been planning this for more than a month. They have become the bullies, probably the worst kind.

Public schools officially opened classes on June 8, and already, this is the third incidence of school violence in the last week. On June 16, seven Grade 5 pupils of Bethel Academy in General Trias, Cavite, were injured after they were allegedly attacked by a female Grade 8 student wielding a kitchen knife. The victims sustained stab wounds on their backs, with two requiring surgery. So far, the police haven't found evidence linking the incident to bullying, gang involvement, or conflict between student groups.

On June 19, a Grade 11 student was repeatedly stabbed by a schoolmate at the Cavite National High School on June 21. The 18-year-old suspect, arrested at the scene, is facing a charge of frustrated homicide. The victim sustained stab wounds to his arm and back. Cavite City Police Station chief, plt. col. Socrates Jaca said that the two had a long-standing conflict.

These are not isolated cases. Several reports have observed a high prevalence of school violence, with bullying within schools as a cause for concern. A December 2024 discussion paper published by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) showed that the Philippines has the highest average bullying exposure score among 15-year-old students in 80 participating countries. One in three Filipino students experiences bullying in school.

Likewise, a 2025 country report by the Coalition for Good Schools observed high prevalence rates of violence inflicted on children across homes, schools, and online platforms in the Philippines. Bullying has been reported at rates as high as 63.15 percent, with 29 percent of the population surveyed identified as perpetrators of bullying.

Studies have also documented that children who either identify as bullies or are victims of bullying are at risk of being involved in other forms of violence. And, if it's true that the two boys from Tacloban were victims first before they became perpetrators, then that's exactly what happened. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Only this time, three lives were taken, and 15 more will never be the same—including the two who will be bearing this cross for the rest of their lives.

This begs two questions. Should bullies be stopped now before they bully more children or, worse, end up being murderers and/or rapists? Yes, definitely. How should people in authority discipline the bullies? 

In Teach You a Lesson, a South Korean action school drama television series streaming on Netflix, school bullies are subject to unconventional methods of disciplining by the state-sponsored Educational Rights Protection Bureau (ERPB). These methods may include physical force or psychological pressure, even if that means "correcting" violence with more violence. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

In real life, the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations confirmed that the series reflects real challenges in education, especially declining classroom discipline and violations of teacher authority. Gyeonggi Province Superintendent-elect Ahn Min-seok even proposed creating their own Teacher Rights Protection Bureau, in an effort to restore teachers' authority. Still, educational institutions and labor organizations in South Korea called for the cancellation of the series. The Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union argued that it glorifies corporal punishment, which is banned in South Korean schools, and that the narrative only normalizes classroom aggression.

The essay "Teach You a Lesson: The Show That Punches Bullies—and Still Gets It Wrong," which was published on Esquire Philippines on June 16, 2026, is in agreement with the latter: The problem with school violence is real, and it's hard to solve, but the solution is never more violence. But the ongoing vitriol in the comments section of this particular piece has exposed an uncomfortable truth: more people are pro-violence, pro-corporal punishment. Violence is the new normal or an old normal that needs to be brought back. "Pinalo din naman ako nung bata ako, okay naman ako ngayon," along with all the toxic nung-panahon-naman-namin claims.

But, while studies have documented a progression of bullies becoming sexual and physical abusers down the line, findings also show that those exposed to violence in the home and the community have increased odds of being bullies. "Normative Factors" is seen as one of four drivers of violence in schools. "A study conducted in urban schools in the Philippines found that young students who were more violently disciplined by their parents and those who came from homes with 'an authoritarian style of child-rearing' were more likely to be violent at school," Coalition for Good Schools’ report said.

The same research added that three out of five children aged one to 14 years receive at least one violent type of discipline (2022). Then there's 63.15 percent of children experiencing violence at home, particularly those who live in households with alcoholic or drug-using family members. A UNICEF study found that 66 percent of its respondents have experienced some form of violence by their parents or siblings, such as being hit or having their hair pulled, pinching or twisting of ears, and, in some cases, being burned or kicked during their childhood. Violence is more prevalent among children whose mothers have had no education.

Imagine if the exposure to violence goes beyond the four walls of a home—a police officer gunning down a teenager in a dark alley (see: Kian Delos Santos), masked men on motorcycles ambushing suspected thieves and drug addicts, a person of power saying “Shoot them dead” on national television.

Violence becomes okay. Normalizing violence results in more violence. This is not rocket science.

This fatal school shooting is once again prompting calls to amend the often misquoted and misunderstood Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, which prioritizes restorative justice and rehabilitation over punishment. 

RA No. 9344 states:

“A child fifteen (15) years of age or under at the time of the commission of the offense shall be exempt from criminal liability. However, the child shall be subjected to an intervention program pursuant to Section 20 of this Act.”

“A child above fifteen (15) years but below eighteen (18) years of age shall likewise be exempt from criminal liability and be subjected to an intervention program, unless he/she has acted with discernment, in which case, such child shall be subjected to the appropriate proceedings in accordance with this Act.”

Contrary to common misconceptions, this doesn't mean that children in conflict with the law (CICL) can go home with just a slap on the wrist and get back to their normal lives as if nothing happened. Senator Kiko Pangilinan, author of the Juvenile Justice Law, alongside Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council (JJWC) Executive Director Tricia Clare Oco, clarified in a Facebook streaming on Tuesday what RA No. 9344 actually means.

"Meron talagang accountability sa ilalim ng batas. Marami kasi ang nagkakalat ng disinformation o maling impormasyon na pagka menor de edad ay walang pananagutan,” Pangilinan started. “Ipinaliliwanag natin nang husto, hindi sila maaaring pakawalan.”

Generally, in this law, minors are still subject to court proceedings, involuntary commitment (a.k.a. removal of the child from parental custody and placement under state supervision), confinement (as in a transformation center), intensive intervention programs, and rehabilitation measures (including counseling and psychosocial intervention designed to help them understand the consequences of their actions). Their parents may also face civil liability for damages, and if parental negligence is proven, they may also face the legal consequences themselves. The law also requires the DSWD to attend to the victims and their families, including providing therapy and other psychosocial services for the trauma. In most cases where the suspect is above 15, discernment is proven, and the perpetrator is sent to jail, according to Oco.

"Ang pinakalayunin ng batas ay hindi dapat nangyayari 'yung mga ganitong bagay at hindi siya mauulit," the JJWC Executive Director said.

These steps align with evidence and implications from psychology research, "that children and adolescents differ significantly from adults in decision-making, propensity to engage in risky behavior, impulse control, identity development, and overall maturity. The developmental immaturity of juveniles mitigates their criminal culpability," according to the Psychological Association of the Philippines (2017). Factors include deficiencies in decision-making (including the biology of the adolescent brain and the adolescent's psychosocial abilities), heightened vulnerability to coercive circumstances (especially as adolescents are more susceiptible to peer influence), and disadvantaged environment and profile of the Filipino child in conflict with the law (often "poor, lacking in education, a victim of parental neglect and/or abuse, and lives in a criminogenic environment").

For the Tacloban shooting, Oco said that the JJWC is working with the local government unit on case management for the minors. She explained that with the investigation still ongoing, the two are currently in police custody, but arrangements are being made to transfer them to Bahay Pag-asa, a transformation center that offers rehabilitation and intervention for CICLs.

It isn't exactly "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." But should it always be?

Or perhaps a better question to ask is: what systemic failure led Rod and Nash to believe that justice must always be an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth?

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