A Facebook post circulating online claims that the Department of Social Welfare and Development promised to take good care of the 14-year-old suspect in the Tacloban City school shooting. This is misleading.
Published on June 25, the graphic carries a picture of DSWD Sec. Rex Gatchalian with the text:
“DSWD, NANGAKONG AALAGAAN NILA NG (sic) MAAYOS ANG 14 YEARS OLD SUSPECT PARA MAKABANGON SA PANGYAYARI.
(DSWD promised they will take good care of the 14-year-old suspect so he can recover from the incident.)”
The post mixes up two distinct legal statuses that Gatchalian explained regarding the two teenage boys, ages 14 and 15, who staged an attack on June 22 at the San Jose National High School, killing three students and injuring 20 others.
According to DSWD Regional Director Grace Subong, both minors are confined under tight security protocols at the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth in Tanauan, Leyte.
Under Republic Act No. 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, legal procedures for the two minors depend on their age.
Gatchalian clarified that while the 14-year-old shooter cannot be criminally charged or jailed later, he has been removed from society for public and his personal safety and is undergoing rehabilitation.
But under the law, those aged 15 to 18 can face full criminal liability if proven that they acted with discernment. Gatchalian explained that if found guilty, the 15-year-old suspect in Tacloban would receive a suspended sentence and be placed in a DSWD rehabilitation center. However, the court can later commit him to a regular adult prison if he fails to reform upon reaching the age of majority.
On June 29, the DSWD confirmed that social workers found that the 15-year-old boy acted with discernment and has been charged with three counts of murder and multiple counts of frustrated murder.
The misleading post surfaced shortly after the June 22 shooting. Posted by Panda Reports (created Feb. 9, 2012) and reposted by several users, the post has so far garnered 8,569 reactions, 5,772 comments, and 537 shares.
