DepEd chief urges stronger campus security, mental health support

MANILA, Philippines — Education Secretary Sonny Angara called for multi-sectoral security cooperation and proactive mental health support during a visit to Banga National High School on Saturday, following a fatal shooting inside the campus.

Angara met with school officials, parents, local leaders, and police officers to coordinate emergency response efforts and assess security gaps. During his visit, the education chief inspected the campus, attended security debriefings, visited the wakes of the victims, and checked on hospitalized victims.

Addressing the incident, Angara acknowledged that the Department of Education’s primary focus on academics leaves schools ill-equipped to handle violent events on their own.

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READ: South Cotabato school shooting kills 3, hurts 6

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“No words can undo the grief and trauma felt by our families here in Banga. Our primary duty right now is care, providing real, sustained support to our learners, teachers, and personnel,” Angara said.

“We really need to step up security measures because we are not truly prepared for shootings like this. We are concentrated on the academic performance of the children,” Angara added in Filipino. “The entire community must come together, including the local government, to fund security guards.”

Angara thanked the provincial government of South Cotabato, led by Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr., for funding campus security guards. DepEd has also requested barangay officials and local watchmen (tanods) to supplement police patrols, particularly in schools without dedicated security personnel.

Highlighting the need for early mental health intervention, Angara noted that emotional distress in students often goes unnoticed.

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“The mental health of our youth is also affected. We need to step up our interventions because sometimes it is not obvious. Teachers sometimes say a child is smart and has no problems, but underlying issues exist. That is why we are hiring School Counselor Associates to help significantly,” Angara explained.

DepEd has deployed Psychological First Aid (PFA) teams to assist affected students, teachers, and staff. Following directives from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the agency is accelerating a review of its campus safety guidelines alongside the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). Angara proposed creating a Joint School Safety Task Force with the DILG and PNP to conduct localized risk assessments across schools.

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Classes at Banga National High School have temporarily shifted to remote learning or suspension to allow for police investigations and crisis response. DepEd urged the public to respect the privacy of the victims’ families and refrain from sharing unverified media related to the incident.