Case dismissed vs. student who fatally stabbed classmate in Parañaque

Metro Manila, Philippines - A settlement with the victim’s family saved the day for a Grade 8 student who fatally stabbed a classmate in Parañaque City but will not be admitted to a rehabilitation facility, the school principal informed the Senate on Tuesday, April 8.

The Senate committee on basic education looked into a series of bullying in schools, including the fatal stabbing at Moonwalk National High School on March 26.

“Case dismissed, dahil 14 years old and six months yung bata,” school principal Leonisa Romano said during the hearing.

“Nagkaroon na ng settlement yung magulang kasi magkakaroon daw ng civil case dapat pero si piskal pinag-usap na sila at nagkaroon ng settlement na lahat ng gastos ay babayaran ng family ng perpetrator, nung CICL (child in conflict with the law),” she added.

[Translation: Case dismissed because the child is 14 years old and six months. The parents reached a settlement because a civil case was supposed to be filed, but the prosecutor facilitated a discussion between them, and they reached an agreement that all the expenses will be paid by the family of the perpetrator, the CICL (child in conflict with the law).]

Senator Win Gatchalian, the committee chairperson, expressed his dismay.

“Yung magulang ng CICL magbabayad sa lahat ng gastos. Pero patay na yung bata e, hindi mo na mababalik yun,” he said.

[Translation: The parents of the CICL (child in conflict with the law) will pay for all the expenses. But the child is already dead, and you can't bring that back.]

According to the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Council, while minors may have no criminal liability, serious offenders must be housed in transformative facilities like Bahay Pag-asa.

“Inaalisan pa rin natin ng kalayaan yung bata [We’re still depriving the child of their freedom],” said Rebecca Ballesteros, chief of the Policy and Research Division of the JJWC.

Gatchalian said parents of minors who commit crimes are not absolved of responsibility, as they may face civil liabilities if the victim’s family decides to press charges.

Physical bullying

According to data from the Department of Education, physical bullying is the most prevalent form of bullying committed by students against their peers, with 321 cases recorded from November 2022 to April 2025. There were a total of 1,314 cases during this period, including verbal bullying and cyberbullying.

Data from the Enhanced Basic Education Information System reveals nearly 80,000 bullying complaints reported from 2019 to 2022, although not all have advanced into formal cases after verification. The majority, over 65,000, involved physical bullying, while more than 14,000 were related to cyberbullying.

Calls received through the helpline indicated that Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon are the "hotspots" with the highest number of bullying cases.

‘Teach GMRC’

Among the interventions pushed by Gatchalian is the full implementation of Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC) in the K to 12 basic education curriculum.

“We cannot wait anymore, hindi na tayo pwedeng mag hintay pa ng isang mamatay dyan na bata dahil hindi natin natuturuan sila nang maaga,” he said.

[Translation: We cannot wait anymore; we can't afford to wait for another child to die because we failed to teach them early.]

Education Assistant Secretary Dexter Gablan admitted there had been a setback, as the agency focused on learning transitions after the pandemic. However, he assured that GMRC would be a priority for the agency in the 2025-2026 academic year.