The alarming rise in repeat students in both elementary and high school in Dagupan City should serve as a wake-up call not only to parents and educators but to the entire community.
While many factors contribute to poor academic performance, city officials have identified one growing menace that can no longer be ignored — the unchecked spread of Pisonets in neighborhoods.
What was once seen as a simple business interprise and a harmless source of entertainment has evolved into a serious social and educational problem. For only a few pesos, children can spend endless hours glued to online games, often staying awake until dawn and arriving at school exhausted, distracted, or absent altogether.
Teachers report students sleeping during classes, unable to focus because they spent the night inside Pisonet hubs instead of studying or resting.
More disturbing is the reality that many of these Pisonets operate illegally. While sari-sari stores secure permits for their businesses, the gaming units attached to them function without legal authorization.
Reports reveal that about 80 percent of users are minors, proving that these establishments thrive mainly on children who should instead be at home, studying, or sleeping.
The accounts coming from Barangay Pantal are particularly troubling. Children reportedly leave their homes after dinner and stay out until midnight or even until 4 or 5 in the morning. Such behavior not only destroys discipline and academic performance but also exposes minors to dangers on the streets at ungodly hours.
The admission of some Pisonet operators that they would rather shut down than prohibit children from entering clearly demonstrates a lack of social responsibility. If operators themselves refuse to regulate access among minors, then government intervention becomes necessary.
In this light, the decision of the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod to impose an outright ban on Pisonets deserves support. Regulation may have been possible if operators cooperated, but when profit is placed above the welfare of children, stronger measures become justified.
Mayor Belen Fernandez is correct in supporting the ban. Education and the well-being of the youth must take precedence over businesses that contribute to addiction, absenteeism, and declining academic performance. Protecting children from harmful influences is not suppression — it is responsible governance.
Still, the responsibility does not end with government action. Parents must also do their part by monitoring their children’s activities and enforcing discipline at home. Communities must work together to ensure that children spend their nights resting and preparing for school, not wasting away in gaming hubs.
The future of Dagupan’s youth is far too important to be sacrificed for a few coins dropped into a machine.