Angara confirms: Reported Sultan Kudarat school shooting ‘false alarm’

MANILA, Philippines — The reported shooting incident at Isulan National High School in Sultan Kudarat province on Wednesday was a “false alarm,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara confirmed.

Earlier, Governor Datu Pax Ali S. Mangudadatu said in a social media post that there was an alleged shooting incident at the school, but no confirmed reports of injuries or fatalities related to the incident.

READ: Sultan Kudarat school principal: No shooting, hostage-taking

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In a brief media interview, Angara said that the circulating report was not true.

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“Hindi daw totoo. Mayroong attempt ‘yata, I think there was an attempt, ‘yun lang alam ko,” he told reporters at The Manila Hotel.

(They said it wasn’t true. There was supposedly an attempt, I think there was an attempt—that’s all I know.)

“Pero no injuries…Parang false alarm, false alarm ang report sa akin as of 1:30 kanina pero hindi naman nagbago. Sabi ko, kung ganon wag na natin ireport kasi alam mo naman baka sumikat pa eh, diba?,” Angara added.

(But there were no injuries… It seemed like a false alarm. The report I got at around 1:30 earlier was that it was a false alarm, but that hasn’t changed. I said, if that’s the case, let’s not report it anymore because, you know, it might just get blown out of proportion, right?)

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The principal of Isulan National High School likewise denied reports of a shooting or hostage-taking on campus, saying all students were safe.

“There was no shooting incident, and there was no hostage-taking,” school principal Lorna Lee Ann Valencia said.

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Valencia said police arrived at the school within five minutes and helped contain the situation and ease concerns among students and school personnel. /mr