CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Amid growing concerns over school shootings in the region and elsewhere, barangay officials and civic leaders in the city are stepping up security and preventive measures to protect students.

In Barangay Patag, chairman Eric Abaday said he would issue an executive order strictly enforcing the 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew, to be implemented by the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT).

The curfew ordinance has been in place since 1994 but has not been consistently enforced across the city.

Abaday also plans to deploy BPAT personnel to secure six schools and education facilities in Patag: Camp Evangelista Elementary School, Bulua National High School-Patag Annex, Diamond Evangelical School, Summer Hill School Foundation, Happy Land International School, and the Patag Early Childhood Care and Development Center.

Rising concern over school violence

The measures come amid a series of recent school shooting incidents, including:

18 August: A 16-year-old student fatally shot a Grade 9 pupil before taking his own life at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University basic education campus.

Early August: A 14-year-old student reportedly killed seven schoolmates in a suburb near Bangkok, Thailand.

June: Two minor students allegedly fatally shot three fellow students in Tacloban City.

The incidents have renewed concerns over the factors that may influence young people to commit violence, including exposure to violent online content and games.

Abaday said children need guidance in distinguishing virtual experiences from real-life consequences.

“We want to teach these children that these nihilistic experiences exist only within the game. They do not carry over into real life,” he said.

He urged guidance counselors in local schools to conduct regular one-on-one emotional check-ins with students to identify distress and other concerns early.

Former city councilor and Xavier University Alumni Association president George Goking Sr. also emphasized the role of parents in guiding children and helping them avoid harmful or violent influences.