A RAPID escalation of campus violence within five days has prompted Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian to renew urgent demands for tighter school security and robust mental health interventions.
Gatchalian’s call on Thursday followed back-to-back stabbings, the latest occurring on Wednesday at SIR Elementary School in Davao City. A 13-year-old student stabbed an 11-year-old schoolmate with a kitchen knife, triggering a standoff when the suspect threatened self-harm.
Authorities cited emotional distress and family problems as triggering factors. The victim is recovering at the Southern Philippines Medical Center, while the minor was turned over to the Women and Children Protection Desk.
Two days earlier, in San Pablo City Science Integrated High School in Laguna, a 12-year-old Grade 7 student was stabbed in the neck and cheek by a classmate using a small pocketknife, an attack investigators attributed to teasing and alleged bullying. The victim is in stable condition, while the suspect is under the custody of the City Social Welfare Office.
The assaults follow an Oct. 16 stabbing at Macabalan Elementary School in Cagayan de Oro City, where a Grade 6 pupil attacked a classmate from behind with a folding knife in retaliation for chronic bullying.
“Barely days after the school stabbing incident in Cagayan de Oro, we are again confronted with similar tragedies, this time in San Pablo City Science Integrated High School... and SIR Elementary School,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
He stressed that protecting students requires a comprehensive approach addressing both immediate security risks and underlying behavioral distress.
He urged the Department of Education to enforce stricter physical security checks, while ensuring the swift implementation of anti-bullying policies and the School-Based Mental Health Program.
