On June 22, 2026, an unprecedented violence occurred at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City in Eastern Visayas where two students aged 14 and 15 years used hand guns to fire dozens of shots and killed three fellow students and wounded more than a dozen others. The nation-wide outcry prompted several lawmakers of the regime and Marcos Jr. himself to push for the lowering of the age for criminal responsibility and also mandatory military training in college or ROTC, social media ban on minors, and other measures.
These has been criticized by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) Special Office for the Protection of Children and the National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas. Both units said that cases of violence among the youth are a reflection and a product of a corrupt semi-colonial and semi-feudal social system with a government that has deliberately and systematically neglected to ensure the well-being and interests of Filipino youth as a vulnerable sector.
On July 3, 2026, Celine Manlimbasog, Spokesperson of the NDF-Eastern Visayas, pointed out that under this corrupt system, “a culture of violence is widespread, exposing youth to fake information, consumerism, and harmful online content so that private companies can make huge profits. The state has neglected to address major problems in the education sector that hinder the development of creative, critical, and productive thinking among youth. In schools, the lack of facilities, books, and other equipment in public schools remains a major problem while the salaries of teachers are burdened by the shortage of teachers.”
The situation in Eastern Visayas is just a part of the nationwide malady. Manlimbasog reported that 6,915 cases of various forms of abuse against children were recorded from 2017 to 2023. At least 30 victims of various forms of violence against children and minors, including 21 victims of murder and attempted murder occurred from 2018-2025. On of these, elements of the 8th Infantry Division of the regime’s Armed Forces of the Philippines were the perpetrators.
Bullying among children in the schools is no different from how the powerful landlords, bureaucrat capitalists and imperialists oppress and exploit the Filipino people, especially the toiling masses. In Eastern Visayas, especially in the countryside, the 8th ID is spreading state fascism and has victimized at least half a million people to suppress their struggle for rights and social justice, continued Malimbasog.
On June 26, 2026, Coni Ledesma, Head of the NDFP Special Office for the Protection of Children, said that public discussion should be directed toward the social, economic, political, and cultural conditions that reproduce violent behavior among the youth. “The National Democratic Front of the Philippines has consistently upheld the principle that the well-being of children is inseparable from the struggle to transform the social conditions that deprive them of their rights.”
“As we mourn with the victims and their families, the NDFP and the entire revolutionary movement reaffirm our commitment to advancing the rights and welfare of Filipino children. A truly child-friendly society is one where every child is guaranteed the conditions necessary for their full development and participation in social life. Such a society can only be achieved through the eradication of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism which are the fundamental sources of exploitation, oppression, and violence that continue to afflict Filipino children and their families. Only in such a society can Filipino children genuinely enjoy peace, dignity, security, and the opportunity to realize their fullest potential,” Ledesma concluded.