The fourth shot must not be fired

The Philippines has a curious way of discovering a problem: first, we insist it does not exist; then, when it happens again, we call it shocking; and when it happens a third time, we hold a press conference about how shocked we are.

In Banga, South Cotabato, a 16-year-old student reportedly brought a 9 mm pistol to Banga National High School, opened fire on students in another classroom, killed two 14-year-olds, wounded eight others, and then killed himself.

The gun, we are told, belonged to his father and had been kept in a vault. Apparently, “secure storage” means secure until a determined teenager finds a way in. That is not security. That is optimism with a padlock. And optimism is a particularly dangerous policy when the object behind the lock can kill.

Banga is now the third deadly school shooting reported in the Philippines since June, following the attacks in Tacloban and Zamboanga. Three incidents do not make an epidemic. But they are more than enough to make complacency indefensible.

Albert Camus wrote that “nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.” That sentence should trouble us when we talk about children. Because children can sit through classes, laugh with friends, pass examinations, and appear perfectly ordinary while carrying private battles adults never see. A report card measures performance. It does not measure loneliness. A school uniform hides more than skin. Sometimes it hides despair.

The temptation after every tragedy is to find one convenient villain. Blame the internet. Blame bullying. Blame violent games. Blame social media. Blame parents. Blame schools. Conveniently, everyone gets a turn.

But there is rarely one switch marked “cause.” A disturbed child may encounter bullying, humiliation, isolation, violent fantasies, online communities that glorify killers or suicidal thinking. None of these, alone, explains murder. The investigation must establish facts rather than manufacture a satisfying story while the victims are still being mourned.

We should not blame religion, ethnicity, or a surname. We should not stigmatize troubled teenagers as future killers. We should not treat mental health difficulties as evidence of violence. But neither should we romanticize warning signs.

The mayor said the teenager reportedly told friends before lunch to go home because he was going to do something. They laughed because they thought he was joking. That detail is almost unbearable. What if the next “joke” is not a joke?

Preventing a fourth shooting cannot mean merely adding another guard at another gate. Schools cannot become miniature prisons where children pass through metal detectors as though education were a high-security warehouse.

The government needs a national school safety system linking schools, police, local governments, and child-protection services. Every credible threat needs a confidential reporting mechanism, rapid assessment, and a clear response. Students must know whom to tell, and trust that adults will listen.

Parents who own firearms have an obligation far greater than hiding a weapon behind a door. Firearms must be stored so that children cannot access them, even by force or curiosity. Where negligent storage is established, accountability should follow.

Schools need counselors who are actually available, trained, and trusted—not merely names printed on an organizational chart. Teachers need training to recognize threats and escalating behavior without turning every troubled child into a suspect.

Technology companies must also confront online communities that glorify real-world violence. The answer is not to blame the internet for every human pathology. But neither can platforms pretend that violent fantasies become harmless simply because they are typed behind a screen. And government must stop measuring preparedness by the number of guards, gates, and cameras installed. Security begins long before the gun reaches the classroom.

The harder work is listening. Most of all, we need to stop asking only, “What was wrong with the child?” Ask instead: Who saw the warning? Who dismissed it? Who had access to the gun? Who was responsible for securing it? Who was available to listen?

There will be investigations, solemn statements, and promises. Then the cameras will leave. The children will return. Let us make sure they return to classrooms where the only thing capable of going off unexpectedly is the bell.

Because after Tacloban, Zamboanga, and Banga, the next warning should not be another shooting. It should be the sound of our conscience finally refusing to be silent.

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Fr. Cyrain Cabuenas is a Catholic priest from Borongan, Eastern Samar, who currently serves in the State of Vermont. He is a former correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer Visayas bureau.