THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has vowed to extend its full support in establishing protocols during safety threats and emergencies.
As an initial show of support, the PNP said it will mobilize sufficient personnel and resources for the nationwide school safety drills planned by the Department of Education (DepEd) for Aug. 25.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the PNP has been very supportive of all DepEd’s programs and plans, and this coordination and partnership were further strengthened following recent incidents in schools that compromised learner safety.
“We have been involved in crafting measures to ensure the protection of learners and every learning space. The hard work is not yet done since your PNP will also be there to make sure that these safety measures are properly implemented in every school,” said Nartatez.
The school safety drills were initially tested in some schools after the PNP and the DepEd, in coordination with other stakeholders, crafted the protocol for teachers and learners’ safety.
Nartatez said the drills will help students, teachers, and other school personnel understand what to do when confronted with a security threat. Police units will also use the exercises to test and improve coordination with school authorities and local government officials.
He directed local police units to coordinate closely with school authorities and barangay officials before and during the exercises. Coordination will cover police response, communication, and other procedures that may be needed during an actual emergency.
“These drills will intensify coordination mechanisms among the police, school authorities, and barangay officials whenever there are threat situations,” Nartatez said.
The DepEd will spearhead the nationwide school safety drills on Aug. 25 to strengthen security measures and help prevent violence in school premises across the country.
‘No parent will have to bury their child’
Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go has called for stronger and coordinated measures to prevent violence in schools, saying no parent should ever have to bury a child because of a preventable tragedy.
“No parent should have to bury their child,” Go said in an emotional address to the Senate plenary on Aug. 19, following the latest shooting incident involving young learners.
Go made the statement after filing Senate Bill (SB) 2413, or the Safe Schools and Violence Prevention Bill, which seeks to establish a comprehensive national framework to protect students, teachers, and school personnel from violence and other threats.
“As I have said many times: schools should remain zones of peace and learning,” Go said, stressing that parents entrust their children to teachers and school administrators because they expect them to be safe and cared for.
“These institutions should never be tainted by fear and violence,” he added.
His call came amid recent school-related shooting incidents, including the reported shooting at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University high school campus on Aug. 18, and an earlier incident in Tacloban City.
Go expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and injured and called for an immediate, thorough, and comprehensive investigation, particularly into how the firearm entered the school and how a minor gained access to it.
“As chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth and a Mindanaoan, I am hurt by what is happening. This incident just happened recently in Tacloban City and now in Mindanao, in Zamboanga,” he said.
Safe schools framework
Go stressed that school violence should not be treated merely as a peace and order problem.
Under SB 2413, schools would be covered by a National Safe Schools Framework anchored on prevention, protection, preparedness, response and recovery. The measure would cover public and private basic education schools, higher education institutions, and technical-vocational institutions.
The bill would require schools to adopt risk-based safety standards based on their location, facilities, student population, and identified hazards. Each institution would also prepare and regularly update a School Safety and Emergency Preparedness Plan and conduct at least one comprehensive safety risk assessment every school year.
Multidisciplinary safety teams could include school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors or qualified mental health professionals, child protection officers, health personnel, social workers, security personnel and, when necessary, law enforcement representatives.
Go said mental health support should be part of, but not the entirety of, a comprehensive school safety system that includes violence prevention, child protection, physical security, emergency preparedness, medical response, reporting mechanisms and inter-agency coordination.The bill would establish confidential reporting channels for students, parents, teachers, school personnel and community members to report credible threats, planned attacks, weapons, severe bullying, online threats, serious self-harm risks and other major safety concerns.
For serious incidents, schools would be required to provide emergency medical attention, protect victims, notify parents or guardians, preserve evidence, refer cases to authorities and conduct post-incident reviews.
The measure also seeks closer coordination among schools, local governments, police, fire and health authorities, social welfare offices, disaster-response agencies, parents and communities.
Go said security measures must respect academic freedom and students’ rights. The bill therefore prohibits indiscriminate surveillance, profiling, stigmatization or punitive action based solely on mental health conditions, disability, family circumstances, social status, political beliefs or other protected characteristics.
Threat assessments, he said, should instead be based on objective behavior and context.
Go has separately filed SB 176, which seeks to establish Mental Health Offices in all public higher education institutions, with counseling services, trained professionals and round-the-clock mental health hotlines.
“Our schools must be places where children feel safe, protected, and free to learn — not places where they have to fear for their lives,” he said.
