The 15-year-old child in conflict with the law (CICL) implicated in the Tacloban school shooting will undergo a preliminary investigation after prosecutors conducted inquest proceedings on three counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder against him.

The charges were filed before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Tacloban City on 24 June, according to Justice Undersecretary Ian Norman Dato, head of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Law Enforcement Cluster.

Dato said the 15-year-old suspect, identified only by the alias “Rod,” will now undergo the regular preliminary investigation process.

“Following the inquest, CICL Rod will now undergo the regular preliminary investigation process,” Dato said.

The DOJ official added that the teenager remains under government custody at the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth in Region VIII while the case is pending.

“The suspect remains deprived of liberty at the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth in Region 8,” Dato said.

The second suspect, a 14-year-old identified only as “Nash,” remains under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) at the same rehabilitation facility, where he is undergoing intervention programs based on the assessment of social workers.

“At present, the 14-year-old CICL, referred to as Nash, remains under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development at the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth in Region 8, where he is undergoing intervention programs based on the assessment of the DSWD social workers,” Dato said.

The younger suspect is exempt from criminal prosecution under the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006.

The City Social Welfare and Development Office, with the assistance of the Public Attorney’s Office, earlier filed a petition for the involuntary commitment of the 14-year-old on 23 June.

Dato said the duration and nature of the intervention measures for the younger suspect will ultimately depend on the assessment and orders of the appropriate court.