What drives a child to violence?

The September 15 classroom fight that led to the death of a 10-year-old boy in Baguio City was recorded by the city schools division office as the only incident in local school history when child rage led to violence and a fatality.

The boy had been exchanging jokes with his 11-year-old classmate when a remark supposedly offended the older boy, leading to a fight that ended badly, according to accounts shared by their classmates.

But in a span of days, his death appeared to be a precursor to two more deaths involving children.

On Sept. 20, a 13-year-old boy carrying a pistol passed through security checks at SM City Pampanga in the City of San Fernando and shot his 16-year-old male friend before turning the gun on himself. The boys died the following day.

On Sept. 21, a 16-year-old high school senior stabbed and killed a 15-year-old junior in a fight during recess inside the school compound in Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan.

What drives a child to violence?

Parents want answers, too. On Monday, they held a picket in front of the Baguio City Hall, demanding reforms from the government due to the spate of violence and a report by local television and newspapers that 56 girls in the city had been missing.

Two of the girls turned up dead. One was shot by a son of a laboratory technician of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) but her body was found only two months after the crime.

Dr. Fernando Eleponga, acting city schools superintendent, said some of the details in the Baguio case revealed problems with the school system. For instance, the pupils in the classroom where the 10-year-old boy died were not supervised because the teacher was absent.

Their adviser, however, was around, but she was holding class in another room. This, Eleponga said, suggested that the absence of one teacher could affect the operations of the school, which is one of the biggest in the city.

William Rilveria, the principal, said his teachers had already agreed that when one of their colleagues is absent, “we would distribute the class to other classrooms.”

Although no survey has yet been conducted, Eleponga said teachers had complained of a trend toward unruly behavior among pupils in the last few years.

This matter has been brought up because a few teachers believe they are less able to discourage bad behavior after a 1998 policy prohibited them from spanking pupils and chastising them loudly, he said.

They also believe child rights advocates in the DepEd have failed to provide public school teachers with appropriate alternatives to ensure classroom discipline from “children who are exposed to violent video games and violence in their neighborhoods,” he said.

This issue is crucial to teachers because their colleagues who are in charge of the boys’ classroom may face charges of neglect, Eleponga said.

In Pampanga, social worker Presentacion Pinaroc asked parents to cultivate a close relationship with their children and their friends so they could help them avoid resorting to suicide or harm others.

Pinaroc, 51, heads the community-based services unit of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Central Luzon. In the last 22 years, she has been handling court-related cases involving children, including those in conflict with the law.

She extended counseling to the family of the 13-year-old boy who shot his 16-year-old male friend at the mall. Police reported finding a suicide note in the boy’s pocket, suggesting that a “lovers’ quarrel” led to the shooting.

Engaging in a romantic relationship at a young age is unusual and difficult because boys and girls in puberty undergo an identity crisis due to physical and emotional changes, she said.

“It is important for parents to guide and supervise their children at home, in school and wherever their children are. They should know the friends of their children because during puberty, boys and girls confide their problems and questions to their peers,” she said. With a report from Ivon Domingo