TACLOBAN SHOOTING INCIDENT composite image from INQUIRER FILE
TACLOBAN CITY — The younger suspect involved in the shooting incident at the San Jose National High School, which left three dead and 20 injured, cannot be held criminally liable, as the law exempts children below the age of criminal responsibility, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Eastern Visayas.
Despite witness accounts linking the 14-year-old to the fatal incident involving three students, the minor cannot be criminally prosecuted under existing Philippine law, the DSWD-8 clarified.
Tacloban school shooting suspect not criminally liable
Atty. Jonalyndie Chua, head of the DSWD-8 Legal Unit, explained that filing criminal charges against the minor would violate constitutional protections, particularly Article III, Section 22 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which prohibits ex post facto laws and ensures that individuals cannot be punished for acts not legally punishable at the time they were committed.
