A 26-year-old arrested for carrying 20 grams of shabu back in 2010 said in a media interview, "I wouldn't be in trouble if my mother did not leave us to work abroad."

Listening to this young man of legal age faulting his mother except himself depicts that everyone seems to be playing the blame game.

Why not? The blame game is played by politicians, officials, advocates, celebrities, and ordinary citizens. Children see them in their peers, adults, and in the news.

It's a sad reality that we live in a culture of blame such that it comes as a surprise when someone owns up sans excuses and alibis.

I muse why parents always take the blame for their children's behavior and misdeeds. Whenever a child behaves in an irresponsible, or dangerous way, many are always quick to ask, "Where on earth are his parents?"

Such is the case of the recent arrest of Juanito Jose Remulla III on 11 October with P1,304,800 worth of kush or hybrid marijuana in Las Piñas City.

Justice Secretary Crispin "Boying" Remulla, who happened to be the father of the 38-year-old Juanito Jose III, has immediately been blamed for what his son is, by detractors who perceive themselves to be righteous and experts in parenting.

Some even called for the Secretary's courtesy resignation to ensure an independent investigation and trial, while others said he has lost all moral authority to be Secretary of Justice.

Let's admit that Secretary Remulla is just like you and me, and all other parents confronting or have been confronted with the stressful task of parenting children struggling with poor behavior choices.

The task has become increasingly difficult in the wake of varied influences available on television, the internet, and peer pressure, among other sources. Whether we like it or not, technology has taken over traditional play and has inevitably been shaping people's lives and habits rapidly. So much so that it has affected daily lives, especially children who imitate what they see and exhibit foreign behaviors that we frown upon in the past.