Student, 12, Yields After Stabbing Schoolmate, 14

A 12-year-old Grade 7 student surrendered to police after allegedly stabbing a 14-year-old Grade 8 student outside a public high school in Barangay Sum-ag, Bacolod City on Monday, June 29.

The victim suffered stab wounds in his left arm and the left side of his body, according to initial investigation by Police Station 8.

Police said a commotion broke out in front of Sum-ag National High School before bystanders found the injured student. The victim was rushed to a medical facility for treatment.

Follow-up police operations led to the surrender of the 12-year-old suspect, who was classified as a child in conflict with the law. Authorities have yet to determine the motive behind the attack.

The incident is the latest in a series of cases involving students not only in Negros Occidental, but across the country.

Last week, a deadly shooting incident occurred at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City. Two minor students opened fire with handguns, killing three students and wounding 20 others.

One of those killed, 15-year-old Chris Lorenz Fabian, who was hailed as a hero for shielding his classmates during the attack, was laid to rest on Tuesday at the Superior Memorial Gardens in Tacloban City.

In San Carlos City, a Grade 9 student of Julio Ledesma National High School was stabbed outside the school premises, allegedly by a Grade 10 student over an old personal grudge. Both students are 17 years old.

This week, a 17-year-old student, who allegedly threatened to carry out a shooting at his school because of bullying, is now under police custody in Batangas City.

Classes resumed in the city on Tuesday, June 30, after police and school officials declared the campus safe following a security assessment.

Meanwhile, in Aparri, Cagayan, police filed criminal charges against a 15-year-old Grade 10 student caught carrying a handgun inside the Aparri School of Arts and Trade.

A similar incident was also reported in Cavite, where another student was apprehended after being caught with a handgun.

The firearms were discovered during mandatory bag inspections conducted jointly by police and school authorities as part of heightened security measures following the Tacloban shooting.

The juvenile suspects are now under the custody of social welfare authorities for assessment and intervention.

Security up

Following the recent incidents, the Department of Education and local governments have begun rolling out stricter security measures in public schools.

On Tuesday, the DepEd announced it would implement mandatory bag inspections in all public schools nationwide.

Education Assistant Secretary for Strategic Management Roger Masapol said schools previously conducted only random inspections.

“Before the Tacloban incident, inspections in our schools were random. So now we are looking into making it mandatory. But what we are looking at is the size of the school. For example, the Parañaque National High School has 14,000 students, bag inspection is a bit of a nightmare. So we are looking at a combination of our security measures,” Masapol said.

“We will also use hand-held metal detectors during the inspection,” he added.

DepEd also clarified that public schools nationwide have 2,494 security guard positions – not 200 – as reflected in official Department of Budget and Management-Government Manpower Information System data as of April 24. Of these, 2,242 positions are filled, while 252 remain vacant.

The department explained that Education Secretary Sonny Angara’s earlier remarks of 200 referred to the historical reduction of school-level security positions during previous government rationalization programs.

In Tacloban City, the Schools Division placed San Jose National High School under an alternative delivery mode, with face-to-face classes set to resume on July 6.

The Philippine National Police has deployed two police officers to every school in the city.

In Cagayan de Oro City, Councilor Maximo Rodriguez III called for stronger school security to prevent a repeat of the Tacloban tragedy, noting that many public schools have only one security guard.

Aside from proposing an ordinance declaring every school in the city a “Peace Zone,” the City Council approved a resolution urging the City Peace and Order Council, the City Social Development and Welfare Department, the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation, DepEd and the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office to strengthen coordination and interventions against school-related violence.

Still lacking

Lawmakers, meanwhile, stressed that school safety goes beyond deploying security personnel, pointing to the continued lack of mental health professionals in public schools.

During a House committee hearing, DepEd Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development Willie Cabral disclosed that no school counselor associates have been hired despite the enactment of Republic Act 12080, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, in 2024.

Cabral said DepEd has already submitted the proposed qualification standards to the Civil Service Commission (CSC), but approval remains pending.

“We submitted a request for the creation of positions of School Counselor Associate I items to the Department of Budget and Management, but we received a communication saying that the creation will be subject to the approval of the qualification standards that we submitted to the CSC,” Cabral said.

According to the Second Congressional Commission on Education, persistent shortages of guidance and mental health personnel have left many schools without adequate psychosocial services, which underscores the need to establish the new School Counselor Associate position to strengthen school-based mental health services. – With Gerry Lee Gorit, Bella Cariaso, Arnell Ozaeta, Miriam Desacada, Emmanuel Tupas