A senator on Wednesday blamed lapses by the school, parents, and the Department of Education (DepEd) for the deadly shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, saying the incident exposed serious gaps in campus security.
The senator said the attack, allegedly carried out by two teenage boys against their schoolmates, should alarm authorities as cases of school violence continue to rise.
“I have repeatedly urged the Department of Education to immediately address the growing incidents of violence in schools and strengthen campus security by deploying security guards equipped with metal detectors to ensure that students’ belongings are inspected before entering school premises,” Sen. Raffy Tulfo said.
He said his earlier recommendation appeared to have been ignored or left without urgent action.
“It is clear that DepEd fell short in ensuring the safety and protection of our students,” he added.
He recalled that he made the proposal during an August 2025 hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, following two separate campus shooting incidents in Lanao del Sur and Nueva Ecija that same month.
During the hearing, Tulfo urged DepEd officials to assign security guards with metal detectors in schools. DepEd Undersecretary Filimon Javier, he said, had agreed with the proposal.
“Nearly a year has passed, yet it has still not been fully implemented, while cases of school-recorded violence continue to rise. We should not wait for more people to get hurt or for more lives to be lost before taking action,” Tulfo said.
The solon also pointed to bullying as a possible root cause of violent incidents in schools. He said he had raised the issue during a March 17, 2026 committee hearing, where he pushed for stronger anti-bullying measures and the mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in classrooms and common areas.
He noted that school violence has continued despite DepEd’s issuance of Memorandum Order No. 90, series of 2025, or the revised implementing rules and regulations of the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013.
DepEd Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara earlier said initial findings showed that the Tacloban school had no perimeter fence. Although security guards were assigned in the area, the armed students allegedly entered through the back portion of the campus.
Angara also cited a recent stabbing incident in Cavite, where the suspect was reportedly able to enter the school because it also lacked a perimeter fence.
He said DepEd would coordinate with local government units to use the Special Education Fund for the construction of perimeter fences in public schools and the procurement of metal detectors.
Tulfo urged Angara to ensure that all public schools have adequate security guards and CCTV cameras, using their Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses when possible.
The senator earlier filed Senate Bill No. 441, which seeks to expand the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013. The measure includes the mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in schools to support investigations of campus violence and strengthen anti-bullying enforcement.
“With the increasing number of violent incidents in schools, many of which involve students themselves, it is high time that this measure be enacted into law,” he said.