PROMPT action by school personnel and police kept two firearm-related incidents in schools in Cebu Province from escalating this week, while one case raised questions about how a 14-year-old student gained access to his grandfather’s revolver and gun owners’ responsibility to keep firearms secured.
The incidents happened on successive days. A 21-year-old student of Bantayan National High School in northern Cebu was arrested Wednesday, Aug. 19, after allegedly making shooting threats, while an unloaded .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum revolver was found Thursday, Aug. 20, inside the bag of a student at Lut-od National High School in Pinamungajan in southwestern Cebu.
The Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) said school personnel sought police help in both cases. Authorities secured the firearm in Pinamungajan and arrested the suspect in Bantayan as police maintained heightened security at schools following the deadly Aug. 18 shooting at a high school campus in Zamboanga City.
Surprise inspection
At Lut-od National High School, a teacher found the revolver during a surprise inspection at around 3:50 p.m. Thursday. School administrators called police and responding officers took custody of the firearm for documentation and proper disposition.
Initial investigation showed that the gun allegedly belonged to the student’s grandfather, the CPPO said. It had been kept in a cabinet at their home in Purok Santol, Barangay Lut-od, where the 14-year-old lives with his grandparents while his parents work outside Pinamungajan.
Police said the student reportedly took the revolver from the cabinet and brought it to school.
School personnel turned him over to the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, where social welfare officials are handling the appropriate intervention in coordination with his parents or guardians while police continue investigating.
A day earlier in Bantayan town, police responded after a teacher called the Bantayan Police Station hotline at 2:30 p.m. to report a threat against students and school personnel, including teachers.
Police officers were immediately deployed to Bantayan National High School and secured the area.
How the threat emerged
Police investigating the Bantayan case learned that a private message had been sent to another student from a dummy account using the name Justin Rodriguez.
The message read: “Mego ako napod ang mamusil diha sa Senior High School; diha sa Bantayan Island, ingna ang guard mego nga tarungon niya pagbantay hah, ingna pod imo mga kauban nga mga studiyante hahahaha.”
(My friend, I’ll be the next one to shoot there at the Senior High School, there in Bantayan Island. Tell the guard, my friend, to watch carefully, okay? Tell your fellow students, too, hahahaha.)
Police said the message also named a Grade 11 teacher as an alleged target and threatened to spray her vehicle with bullets.
The account sent a photo of an alleged 9mm firearm with five bullets and also mentioned an AK-47 and a grenade, according to police.
Two students identified a 21-year-old student as the person allegedly using the dummy account. Police said he is from Barangay Bantigue in Bantayan town.
Officers launched a hot pursuit operation, arrested him and brought him to the police station for investigation.
Police said they also obtained messages linking him to the Justin Rodriguez account, including a conversation in which he allegedly told a classmate that he had created a dummy account.
The police report did not state that officers recovered a firearm, rifle or grenade from the suspect.
Police are preparing complaints for grave threats and unjust vexation against him.
Who is accountable
The Pinamungajan incident presents a different issue because an actual firearm was recovered from a minor.
Police said the revolver allegedly belonged to the boy’s grandfather. They have not said whether the firearm was licensed or registered, how the student was able to gain access to it, or whether its owner could face a complaint.
CPPO Director Col. Abubakar Udang Mangelen Jr. said firearm owners must make sure their weapons cannot be reached by children or other unauthorized people.
“This incident demonstrates the importance of vigilance and proactive safety measures inside our schools. We commend the school personnel for immediately reporting the discovery and seeking police assistance. Their prompt action helped ensure that the situation was contained before it could potentially lead to harm,”Mangelen said.
He also called on school communities to immediately report suspicious activity or dangerous items.
“We remain committed to keeping our schools safe and secure. We encourage school administrators, teachers, parents, and students to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity or dangerous item. At the same time, firearm owners must ensure that their firearms are properly secured and inaccessible to children and other unauthorized persons,” Mangelen said.
The 14-year-old’s case is being handled with the involvement of social welfare officials, while the Bantayan suspect, at 21, is an adult and is being investigated for possible criminal charges.
Why security was tightened
The two incidents occurred as police increased their presence at schools across Cebu Province following the Aug. 18 shooting at a high school campus in Zamboanga City that left two students dead, including the gunman.
Gov. Pamela Baricuatro directed police to strengthen security measures in public and private schools across the province following the shooting.
“Our schools should be safe spaces for learning, growth, and hope, and the Provincial Government of Cebu will continue to work with the police, schools and communities to safeguard our students and ensure their safety,” Baricuatro said.
As of 4 p.m. Aug. 18, the province-wide security operation covered 278 schools, 223 public and 55 private, with more than 200 police officers deployed.
Police units are implementing a one-police-to-school scheme in coordination with local government units and school administrators.
Mangelen ordered local police chiefs to maintain visibility at campuses and adjust deployments according to the security needs of each community.
The Pinamungajan investigation remains focused on how the minor obtained the revolver and brought it to school, while police in Bantayan are preparing the complaints against the 21-year-old student accused of making the shooting threats. / CDF, AYB