Content warning: The following report contains references to a school shooting, including deaths and injuries.
Lovella Maguad, the mother of the two Maguad siblings who were previously murdered by minors, reiterated her call for amendments to existing laws following the school shooting in Tacloban City.
The matriarch on Wednesday, June 24, responded to people who had been tagging her in posts about the two minor suspects in the June 22 shooting at San Jose National High School.
The shooting was allegedly perpetrated by a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old, both of whom reportedly had access to firearms.
Police said the teenagers had an intended target but opened fire at the classrooms after realizing the target was not there.
The shooting killed three students and injured at least 20 individuals.
It also sparked discussions about the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, the law that addresses children at risk and children in conflict with the law.
It states that children aged 15 or younger at the time of the offense are exempt from criminal liability. However, they will be subjected to intervention programs.
Reports said that the police have filed criminal charges against the 15-year-old suspect, while the 14-year-old who allegedly fired at least 33 shots, will undergo long-term rehabilitation under the country’s juvenile justice framework.
The shooting killed three students and injured at least 20 individuals.
The case has reignited discussions about possible amendments to laws governing youth offenders, with some citing the Maguad siblings’ case as another example of a crime involving minors.
The Maguad siblings, Gwynn and Boyboy, were killed in December 2021 in Cotabato by the family’s then-17-year-old adopted daughter, Janice Sebial Emuelin, and her friend, 17-year-old Esmeraldo Cañedo Jr.
The renewed debate surrounding the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act following the Tacloban shooting caught the attention of Lovella, who joined calls for legislative amendments and urged government officials to consider the concerns raised by victims’ families and advocates.
“I have exhausted every possible effort to make the government pay attention to their case, hoping that what happened to them would be the last of its kind,” Lovella wrote on Facebook.
“I have always maintained one unwavering belief: regardless of age, no matter how young, kind, or seemingly innocent a person may appear, anyone who commits not just an ordinary crime, but a heinous and brutal act, must be held accountable for their actions,” the mother added.
“We have long underestimated the capacity of minors—even those as young as 12 years old or younger—to plan, execute, and inflict unimaginable harm,” she said.
“That is why I continue to advocate for the amendment of laws that no longer adequately address the realities we face today. I have already laid down countless reasons why lawmakers must seriously revisit and reform these provisions,” the matriarch added.
Lovella claimed that there “remains a persistent refusal to acknowledge” what she described as “flaws” in the country’s juvenile justice system.
“Instead of confronting these shortcomings, some continue to defend a system that, in certain cases, fails to deliver justice to victims and their families while providing excessive protection to minor offenders, regardless of the gravity of their crimes,” she said.
“My stand has never changed: justice must not only protect the rights of offenders; it must also uphold the rights, dignity, and memory of the victims whose lives were taken too soon,” the matriarch added.
“True justice can only be achieved when laws are amended to reflect accountability,” Lovella said, adding that the law “should never be interpreted or applied in a way that emboldens some minor perpetrators to commit horrific crimes without fear of meaningful consequences.”
“Protection should never become a shield for brutality, nor should compassion for offenders come at the expense of justice for victims. If we truly want to prevent more families from suffering the same fate as ours, then we must have the courage to acknowledge the weaknesses in our laws and the resolve to correct them,” she added.
The Maguad case
A 2022 court ruling convicted the killers of the Maguad siblings, sentencing Janice to a prison term of at least 18 years and one day to 32 years and Esmeraldo to 12 years and one day to 37 years.
In June 2024, Lovella shared that Esmeraldo would “finally serve his sentence for a minimum period of 22 years prison mayor and a maximum period of 37 years Reclusion Temporal.” She also noted that Esmeraldo would turn 20 in August that year.
By May 2026, Lovella shared that she and her husband had made a “decision” concerning the perpetrators, though she did not disclose further details.
“Sobra tatlong linggo rin kaming nag-isip at nagdasal kung ano ang pinakatama at makatarungang desisyon — lalo na kung saan dapat ilagay ang dalawang perpetrators. Hindi naging madali ang proseso, pero sa huli, nakapag-desisyon na rin kami ng aking asawa. Kung ano man, hindi ko pagsisihan…” she wrote.
A look at the law
Under the Juvenile Justice Justice and Welfare Act, children aged 12 to 15 who commit serious offenses such as murder may be placed in a special facility within a Bahay Pag-asa known as the Intensive Juvenile Intervention and Support Center.
Once the child reaches the age of majority, the court may dismiss the case and order the youth offender’s final discharge from a suspended sentence if a supervising social worker certifies that the goals of the rehabilitation program have been achieved.
Such dismissal extinguishes the child’s criminal liability but does not affect any civil liability or damages that may be awarded to the victims.
However, if the child fails to comply with the rehabilitation program or willfully violates its conditions, the child may be brought back to court for the execution of the original judgment.
If the offender turns 18 while still under a suspended sentence, the court must determine whether to discharge the person, order the service of the sentence, or extend the suspended sentence until the person reaches 21 years old.
ALSO READ: Can minors be criminally liable? Here’s what the law says
Meanwhile, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality, has expressed support for reviewing and potentially amending the Juvenile Justice Law in light of the Tacloban shooting.
“I believe that the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act is a good law, but we may need to look at how it is implemented and whether there are provisions that need to be strengthened in light of incidents like this,” she said.
— with reports from Philstar.com/Ian Laqui
