Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
LESS than one month after the start of the new school year, a school shooting occurred in Tacloban City, leaving three dead and 20 injured. This wasn’t the only incident of school violence, but it was the most shocking. What seemed to be a predominantly American problem has found itself in our very classrooms.
This has sparked heated debate over the issue of lowering the age of criminal liability. However, as an architect, urban planner and father of three, I say that the issue goes much deeper than security. To solve this problem, we must be systems-centric and take a good look at the root of the problem.
Just as design dictates behavior in our cities, what kind of environments are we raising our children in?
The problem of shortsightedness
The nuclear family — consisting of a father, a mother and their children — is the most basic unit of society. The issues that plague our nation ultimately point back to how we raise our children. What values do we teach and model in the home? How do we lovingly discipline them?
The problem with Filipinos is that we tend to be shortsighted, looking only at the surface level. Lowering the age of criminality shifts the blame from the adults to the children. Improving security with hard measures, such as guards, walls and x-ray machines, doesn’t eradicate the violence in the heart.
The harsh truth is that these incidents of school violence are a reflection of our failings as a society. We have no one else to blame except ourselves.
The home as the first city
Family issues are urban planning problems because the home is the first city that a child will experience. The walls and the roof are the geographical boundaries, while the parents act as the local government, with the father and the mother having unique and complementary roles. How they develop this miniature city directly affects the development of their kids.
The husband acts as the leader, provider and protector of the family, instilling discipline and order. He must empower his children to be moral, emotionally stable and independent individuals. Meanwhile, the mother is the homemaker, submitting to the husband’s authority and supporting him in child-raising. She teaches the kids empathy, compassion and kindness.
The interaction between father and mother in the home serves as the basis for the relationships that children will form outside the house. What they see sets the precedent for how they will interact outside the house. That is why the absence of one or both parents is detrimental to the development of the youth.
National development and child development
According to the Department of Health, there are an estimated 15 million solo parents, with a staggering 95 percent being single mothers. There are many factors that contribute to the prevalence of broken families, but we can’t deny the prominence of economics.
The Philippines is rich in natural and human resources. Globally, we are No. 1 in marine biodiversity with the fifth-longest coastline, third in geothermal energy, fifth in mineral reserves and 12th in human capital. Yet, the standard of living is low and wealth disparity is high.
The Philippine Statistics Authority has estimated that around 15.5 percent of the population (or 17.54 million people) is living in poverty. According to a 2022 World Bank report, the Philippines ranks 15th out of 63 countries in terms of income inequality. The top 1 percent provides 17 percent of the national income, while the bottom 50 percent contributes only 14 percent.
When basic needs such as food, shelter and clothing are barely met, how much harder will it be for children to have access to health care, education and other opportunities to enjoy a meaningful and purposeful life?
Poverty is a vicious cycle. No one remains poor because they chose to do so. It’s tragically ironic that Filipinos go abroad as overseas Filipino workers to take care of the kids of foreigners, yet they can’t be present for their own children. Even parents living in the Philippines are unable to spend quality time with their families because their energy and availability are robbed by the grueling commute.
The prolonged physical separation puts a heavy strain on familial connections. The absence of a parent can speak louder than the volume of their remittances. And when marriages are dysfunctional, the consequences are passed on to the children, who could then pass them on to the next generation.
Children are the most vulnerable members of society because they are utterly helpless. They experience the same emotional and mental struggles as adults, but without the awareness or maturity. They cannot fend for themselves when they are completely dependent on their parents.
Cities for children
By 2050, we will need at least 100 cities to accommodate more than a hundred million Filipinos who will be living in urban areas. The question that we must be asking is whether these cities will be protecting families or destroying them?
In order for cities to be smart, resilient, sustainable and future-ready, they must uphold the dignity of the family by creating an environment where the basic needs of human beings are met. This includes their physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Taking inspiration from Winston Churchill’s quote, I say we shape the environment, and the environment shapes us. Children must have spaces where they are free to interact with each other. But how can we expect them to play outside when the streets are not safe due to motor vehicles and there are little to no open spaces?
Parks and playgrounds are more than just the lungs of the city. They are also the venue where organic social interaction occurs, especially for children who spend most of their time at home or in school, often glued to a screen. Local governments must invest in safe streets and public spaces to ensure that children have a place where they can develop their face-to-face interpersonal skills.
Morality as the glue that holds communities together
If we neglect the moral fabric that holds communities together, then society risks imploding, as seen in these incidents of school violence. The leaders we elect are a reflection of our values as a nation.
You cannot govern a nation when you neglect your own family. And how can you expect children to vote wisely when parents do not model proper leadership? That is why visionary leadership, strong political will and good governance are essential.
We can’t expect the government, schools or public institutions to raise our children. And families will not thrive unless their needs are being met in the environment in which they live. That is why it takes a city to protect a child.