MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday called for nationwide community town hall dialogues in schools after the Department of Education (DepEd) postponed its planned live-shooter drills amid concerns over students’ mental and emotional well-being.
Cayetano cited the joint statement of the Philippine Psychiatric Association and the Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry which urged DepEd to defer the Aug. 25 nationwide drill over concerns that hyper-realistic simulations could cause psychological harm.
“They're saying that preparedness in schools is essential but the methods chosen must be trauma-informed and grounded in evidence,” Cayetano said.
Instead of immediately rescheduling the drill, the senator proposed using the time to bring school communities together.
"While it is being studied, [may I recommend] a national day or half day be declared by the Palace or Malacanang or the President, wherein a community town hall (dialogue) be held in every school and get a sense of community going, and a sense of the problems of each school in terms of the emotional, psychological, mental, spiritual well-being of the students,” he said.
Cayetano described the proposal as an expanded parent-teacher meeting involving parents, teachers, student leaders, school officials, religious leaders, youth leaders, business leaders, and other members of the community.
The senator said the discussions should also look beyond school shootings and examine the factors that may drive students toward violence or other harmful behavior.
He also said that preparedness remains important but warned that authorities must also consider whether their response could create further harm.
"I just like to focus on the reaction. If the reaction is equally ill-planned or equally harmful, we might have a bigger problem after this drill," he added.
