The Philippine National Police on Thursday said it is studying the creation of anti-bullying help desks in schools nationwide following the deadly shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said bullying requires immediate intervention to prevent incidents from escalating into more serious offenses or crimes.
Authorities earlier said bullying triggered two students of San Jose National High School to shoot their fellow students inside the campus on June 22.
Three students were killed and 20 others were injured in the attack, which authorities also linked to the suspects’ exposure to the violent online game Gorebox.
Nartatez said the proposed anti-bullying help desks would support the measures being implemented by the Department of Education to strengthen student protection.
These include the planned mandatory inspection of bags and the creation of school counselor posts.
The PNP chief said DepEd’s initiatives could be reinforced by PNP help desks, particularly through coordination with police personnel handling women and children protection concerns.
“Our coordination with DepEd is continuously being done to provide the best protection to our learners and to make sure that all schools are safe and conducive to learning,” Nartatez said.
Nartatez also reiterated the PNP’s commitment to actively support efforts to combat bullying, especially in schools.
“We will strengthen our anti-bullying campaign through close coordination with other concerned agencies and offices,” Nartatez said.
Meanwhile, the Quezon City Police District denied reports of a shooting incident at Bagong Silangan National High School on Thursday.
In a statement, the QCPD said police personnel were meeting with school officials at around 9 a.m. when they heard a loud commotion from the second floor of the school building.
“The responding personnel immediately proceeded to the area to verify the situation,” the QCPD said.
Investigation showed that students had heard a “loud banging sound” from a nearby construction site.
“Police verification confirmed that the sound came from ongoing construction activities in the area and that no shooting incident occurred,” the QCPD said.
“The situation has since been declared safe and under control, and normal school activities have resumed. No injuries or untoward incidents were reported,” it added.
The QCPD urged the public to refrain from sharing unverified information on social media, warning that such posts could cause unnecessary fear and panic.