MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) said 12 other incidents of school violence were recorded since the June 22 Tacloban high school shooting that killed three students and wounded several others.
The troubling incidents — monitored after the mass shooting at the San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Leyte — involved bomb threats, riot, stabbing, and recovery of firearms and ammunition.
DepEd Undersecretary Malcolm Garma on Thursday presented a timeline of these incidents during the public hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education that tackled proposed bills to protect students.
These troubling incidents were recorded on June 23 in schools in Tarlac; June 23 (Julio Ledesma National High School, Negros Occidental); June 24 (Tolosa National High School, Leyte); June 26 (Aparri School of Arts and Trade, Cagayan); June 26 (Emilia Ambalada Poblete Integrated High School, Cavite); June 27 (Palo National High School, Leyte); June 29 (Batangas City Integrated High School); June 29 (Escalante National High School, Negros Occidental); June 30 (Barotac Nuevo National Comprehensive High School, Iloilo); July 1 (Cabaluay National High School, Zamboanga City); July 3 (Eastern Samar National Comprehensive High School); and July 6 (Emilio Ramos National High School, Davao City).
“Twelve incidents in 20 days. Did these [incidents] really happen even before and were not simply reported?” Sen. Bam Aquino, committee chairman, asked in Filipino and English. He wanted to know whether the Tacloban incident triggered the increase in school violence.
Garma said more school violence were reported after the Tacloban incident. “According to the PNP, there’s always the tendency of the phenomenon of ‘copycat.’ They became curious, knowing the story behind the Tacloban incident,” he said.
Aquino pushed for the urgent passage of the proposed School Safety Act to ensure safe spaces for students. He said protecting students from harm or danger requires an immediate and whole-of-nation intervention.
