The tragic shooting incident at a school in Zamboanga City, which claimed the lives of two students, is a repeat wake-up call of an urgent need to guide and protect our young people. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims and pray for God’s comfort and strength.

We cannot address violence by focusing only on what happens inside our schools. The home is the first school, and parents are the first teachers. Raising a generation who respects life and exercises self-discipline is not only a role of the schools, it is a whole-of-society responsibility.

This is the reason why we filed House Resolution No. 1279 which calls for a review of the implementation of existing laws and policies on values education, anti-bullying, and school safety.

It is also high time to institute appropriate regulation of our children’s exposure to social media. We are calling for the immediate passage of our House Bill No. 8262, or the Social Media Protection for Minors Act, which provides for stronger safeguards against harmful online content and practices that put minors at risk.

We cannot afford not to face this serious issue that keeps on repeating and haunting our children’s welfare for long. We need to find the gaps and flaws in our policies and its implementation, and address them rightly and swiftly. #