THE Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday welcomed the efforts of local government units (LGUs) and private partners to heighten security in public schools nationwide, following the deadly June 22 shooting at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City.
The department has launched a nationwide School Safety Campaign, following the incident reports of school violence in public schools across the country.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara thanked those behind the external funding of upgraded security equipment like closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and metal detectors.
Angara issued the statement after a school safety inspection at Alfonso Castañeda National High School in Nueva Vizcaya.
Other senior DepEd officials also conducted parallel school inspections and localized evaluations across different regions.
In Eastern Visayas, the Tacloban Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce Inc. pledged to donate 20 metal detectors to the Tacloban City Schools Division Office (SDO) following the shooting incident at the San Jose National High School.
The Maasin City LGU, meanwhile, passed a resolution to purchase metal detectors for its high schools and large campuses, while its parent-teacher associations (PTAs) donated one metal detector to Cabadiangan Elementary School and three metal detectors and four CCTV cameras to Maasin Central School.
The Zamboanga Peninsula region also logged donations, including six metal detectors across various campuses in the Schools Division Office (SDO)-Dipolog City, from individual benefactors and the Brgy. Estaka Council.
The Aboitiz company also donated four CCTV units to Mabini Elementary School in SDO Zamboanga Sibugay.
In Iriga City, the Iriga Central School PTA raised P100,000 to install 24 CCTV cameras with a monitoring system.
In SDO Catanduanes, Panganiban National High School acquired four CCTV units worth P32,000, while Magnesia National High School installed four CCTV units funded under the Special Education Fund (SEF).
In Binmaley, Pangasinan, the LGU pledged to allocate metal detectors for all local schools, while Malolos City provided public schools with handheld metal detectors.
Similar plans are underway to seek funding for handheld metal detectors for public school security guards through the local school board in Cebu City.
In Metro Manila, Marikina City said it will provide metal detectors in public and private schools and increase police and Office of Public Safety and Security (OPSS) personnel deployment as part of strengthened campus security measures.
Mayor Marjorie Ann Teodoro announced the additional interventions on Monday, after inspecting several of the city’s large public schools to assess existing security measures.
Teodoro said police officers and OPSS personnel were already assigned in schools even before the recent incidents were reported, but the city government wants to further strengthen their presence to reassure parents.
Aside from metal detectors, the city government will deploy additional police personnel and roving police officers in private schools in coordination with the Marikina Private Schools Association Inc.
Another threat
Just a week after the school shooting in Tacloban, Leyte, an anonymous Grade 10 student from a public school in Batangas City threatened to shoot at students because of bullying, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday.
The threat was received through the school’s social media page late Sunday night, prompting the management to suspend classes on Monday, PNP public information chief Col. Allen Rae Co said in a press briefing in Camp Crame.
“Saksak at baril ko kayo mga Grade 78910. Holan niyo kung kelan aha.hahahaha. Ako ay Grade 10. Binubully niyo ako ha. and barelan tau bukas, Patay kayo sakin (I will stab and shoot you Grades 7,8,9 and 10. Guess when? [laughs] I am a Grade 10 [student] You are bullying me, let’s shoot each other tomorrow. You will pay),” the post said.
“It was read by one of the advisers of the school and tagged as a threatening message.... So, they suspended classes. Our police officers went to the school immediately to coordinate with them to check the veracity of this report,” he said.
Co said the post is now under investigation by the Anti-Cybercrime Group to identify the person who posted the message who could be using a fictitious name to avoid detection.
The school said classes would resume Tuesday.
Principal IV Aida Gutierrez said in a statement that the school administration, in coordination with the LGU and concerned authorities, “has undertaken the necessary safety and security protocols to ensure the protection of students, teaching and non-teaching personnel, parents, and other stakeholders.”
Shooter acted with discernment
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Monday said its social workers’ initial assessment found that one of the shooters, the 15-year-old, in the Tacloban City school shooting acted with discernment, subject to verification by the court.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act provides that minors ages 15 to below 18 may incur criminal liability if they are found to have acted with discernment.
“Under the law, if you are 15 years old plus one day until below 18 years old, you may have criminal liability if you have discernment, which means you understood what you were doing, planned it, tried to conceal it, knew the difference between right and wrong, and understood the consequences,” Gatchalian said.
He said the initial assessment made by social workers still requires formal verification by the court.
The DSWD is also awaiting the official results of the psychological evaluations of the 15-year-old and the 14-year-old shooter, who remain under the custody of the Regional Rehabilitation Center for Youth in Tacloban City.
Also on Monday, Sen. Imee Marcos raised the need to strengthen security in schools, including the installation of more CCTV cameras and metal detectors, following the series of violent incidents involving young students.
