IN the wake of the deadly Tacloban school shooting, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has created a school and community safety task force mandated to prevent violence in the city’s schools.
Domagoso made the announcement during his State of the City Address on Wednesday.
The Manila School and Community Safety Task Force aims to prevent armed violence and mass-casualty incidents in schools and public spaces through a “prevention-first approach” built on three principles: eliminating illegal firearms and armed threats, acting on every credible warning sign of violence, and preparing every school and community for emergency response.
“Our policy is simple: Remove illegal guns. Act on every warning sign. Prepare every school. Manila will not wait for a tragedy before taking action,” said Domagoso.
“The Task Force shall serve as the city’s coordinating body for violence prevention, threat assessment, school safety and emergency preparedness,” Executive Order 29 stated.
Domagoso will head the task force, which shall be composed of other city government offices, police officers and representatives from private schools, parent associations and youth organizations.
The order mandates the Manila Police District (MPD) to “intensify operations against loose firearms, illegal gun trafficking, gun-for-hire groups and armed criminal networks.” The MPD is also tasked with communicating with all public school clusters and villages by designating a school and youth safety coordinator, and submitting monthly reports on illegal firearm operations and preventive interventions undertaken.
School Safety and Threat Assessment Teams will also be established by the Schools Division Office of Manila (SDO-Manila) in each school district.
The SDO-Manila will implement standardized procedures for reporting threats and weapons possession, strengthen counseling and behavioral intervention programs, and conduct at least two emergency preparedness exercises and one lockdown drill per academic year.
Along with the MPD, the SDO-Manila will conduct a “School Safety Audit” of all public schools within 90 days of the order’s effectivity, covering physical security, access control, evacuation routes, communications capability and existing emergency response plans.
It will then be submitted to the mayor’s office for “immediate action.” All villages are directed to “support violence prevention initiatives, encourage responsible reporting of threats and illegal firearms, and maintain coordination with local police and school authorities.”
