DepEd tightens school safety after Banga shooting

Education Secretary Sonny Angara underscored the urgency of immediate care, community partnership, and proactive mental health interventions following a shooting incident at Banga National High School in South Cotabato.

"No words can undo the grief and trauma felt by our families here in Banga. Our primary duty right now is care, providing real, sustained support to our learners, teachers, and personnel,” Angara said during his visit at Banga National High School on Saturday to lead response efforts and extend support to affected victims’ families and personnel.

During the visit, Angara conferred with school personnel, parents, local officials, and police to coordinate emergency response, deploy critical psychosocial services, and address safety vulnerabilities. He also inspected the school, attended security and teacher debriefings, visited the wakes of the victims and checked on the wounded in hospitals.

Addressing safety challenges, Angara noted the Department of Education’s (DepEd) focus on learning leaves schools unprepared for violence, making support from local governments and communities crucial.

“Yung security measures, kailangan talagang paigtingin dahil hindi talaga kami handa sa mga ganitong shootings. Naka-concentrate tayo sa academic performance ng mga bata,” Angara said.

“Kailangang magsama-sama ang lahat ng komunidad dito, kabilang ang local government para sa pagpondo ng security guards,” Angara said, thanking the provincial government led by South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. for funding campus security guards.

DepEd has requested barangay officials and tanods to supplement police patrols, particularly in schools lacking security guards.

Angara also prioritized early mental health support, noting subtle behavioral red flags that require broader community-wide intervention.

“Pati ang mental health ng ating mga kabataan ay apektado na rin. Paigtingin natin ang ating interventions dahil minsan hindi ito halata. Minsan sinasabi ng mga guro na magaling at walang problema ang bata, pero mayroon palang mga problema. Kaya hiring tayo ng School Counselor Associates para makatulong nang malaki,” Angara explained.

DepEd immediately deployed Psychological First Aid (PFA) teams to support affected learners, teachers, and personnel.

In line with the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., DepEd is expediting a comprehensive review of its existing campus safety guidelines in close coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).

Angara has proposed a Joint School Safety Task Force with the DILG and PNP for localized risk assessments across schools and coordinated action.

Meanwhile, classes at Banga National High School will temporarily transition to suspended or remote status as officials monitor the situation and allow for thorough police investigations and ongoing delivery of crisis interventions.

DepEd said it fully respects the jurisdiction of the PNP regarding the investigation and urges the public to respect the privacy of affected families and refrain from circulating unverified media content surrounding the incident.