DepEd chief pushes stronger school safeguards after Tacloban shooting

MANILA, Philippines — Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Tuesday said the Department of Education (DepEd) would review school safety measures and strengthen coordination with law enforcement following the shooting incident at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City.

His visit to Tacloban comes as authorities continue investigating the said incident, where two minor Grade 9 and Grade 10 students allegedly opened fire on campus, killing three students and injuring 13 others.

READ: School shooting kills 3 students in Tacloban

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The education chief said schools may need to update their school emergency protocols, including procedures for active threats, much like the drills conducted for fires and earthquakes.

“We should improve the physical environment and make it more difficult to climb over, especially since this is a crowded area,” Angara said in an ambush interview.

The education chief also expressed concern over the possibility of copycat incidents, citing experiences in other countries where highly publicized acts of violence were later imitated.

“We’re very concerned because we do not want this to happen as well, especially since in the United States there have been cases of copycat killings,” Angara said when asked if cases similar to this are being monitored in other schools.

Asked again if teachers, principals, or parents must be held accountable, he said that if not for the teachers, more could have possibly been injured from the incident.

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“For me, the person from whom the firearm came should be the one held accountable,” Angara said. “It is not normal for children to have guns.”

READ: DepEd mobilizes aid, condemns deadly Tacloban City school shooting

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He also cited reports from local officials about gang-related concerns that reportedly worsened after the pandemic, saying schools, communities, and government agencies must work together to provide young people with positive outlets and support systems.

“Again, that is where police visibility comes in. When police officers are regularly patrolling the area, those kinds of activities were said to decrease,” Angara said.

The education chief is also expected to visit the affected students and their families during his stay in Tacloban City. /das

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