‘Yorme’ initiates armed violence prevention task force

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso signed an executive order creating a citywide task force aimed at preventing armed violence and mass-casualty incidents in schools and public spaces.

Executive Order 29, known as the “Manila Schools Safety Initiative,” establishes the Manila School and Community Safety Task Force.

“Our policy is simple: Remove illegal guns. Act on every warning sign. Prepare every school. Manila will not wait for a tragedy before taking action,” Domagoso said during his State of the City Address on Wednesday.

The order, which took effect immediately upon its signing, utilizes a prevention-first framework focused on eliminating illegal firearms, addressing credible warning signs of violence and training schools and communities for emergency responses.

The task force will be led by either the mayor or the city administrator. Its members include the director of the Manila Police District, the head of the Schools Division Office of Manila and the chiefs of the city’s social welfare, health and disaster risk reduction departments.

Representatives from private schools, parent associations, youth organizations and local barangay leadership will also join the body.

Under the directive, the Manila Police District must ramp up operations against unregistered firearms, illegal gun trafficking and armed criminal groups.

The local police force is also required to designate a school and youth safety coordinator and set up a threat monitoring desk to evaluate potential reports of violence.

Meantime, the Manila schools division will establish threat assessment teams in every school district, enforce standardized reporting for weapons possession, and mandate at least two emergency exercises and one lockdown drill per academic year.

Additionally, the city’s education department and local police will jointly conduct a safety audit of all public schools within 90 days to assess physical security, evacuation routes, and communication capabilities.

The executive order outlines a 180-day timeline for all public schools to update their emergency response plans and for the MPD to have its new threat monitoring desk fully operational.