STRESSING that online threats are serious criminal offenses rather than harmless jokes, Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas Jr. condemned a gun threat directed at a local high school as authorities in Mandaue moved to strengthen campus security.
The Talisay City Government suspended classes at Talisay City Elementary School and Talisay City National High School (TCNHS) on Monday, July 6, 2026, after an anonymous Facebook user posted a gun threat against the school. Separately, the Mandaue City Council introduced a resolution urging all 27 barangays to include public and private schools in regular security roving and visibility patrols.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday, July 5, Gullas said the City Government had mobilized law enforcement agencies and coordinated with the Department of Education (DepEd) Talisay City Division to implement safety measures while authorities investigated the source of the online threat.
Online threat investigated
The threat came from a now-deleted Facebook post by a user identified as “Zane Bacalso,” who threatened to bring a firearm into a school over an alleged bullying incident involving a younger sibling.
Gullas warned individuals who use anonymous social media accounts to spread threats that they can still be identified and prosecuted.
“To anyone who thinks hiding behind a fake Facebook account makes you untouchable, don’t think that you are hard to trace,” he said in a mix of Cebuano and English.
He said threats against schools, students and teachers are serious criminal matters and assured the public that those responsible would be held accountable under the law.
In an interview on Monday, Gullas said classes could resume on Tuesday, July 7, while the investigation continues with heightened police visibility inside the school campus. He also directed schools to equip security guards with handheld security devices as an added precaution.
Schools strengthen security
TCNHS principal Jeditho Dela Cuesta said the school immediately coordinated with the Talisay City Police Station, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit and the Special Weapons and Tactics team after the threat surfaced online.
Authorities conducted a campus lockdown, inspection and threat assessment on the evening of July 5.
Dela Cuesta urged parents, teachers and students to remain calm as investigators continued gathering evidence.
He said the school’s information technology personnel have been helping authorities trace the person behind the post and have already developed possible leads. He added that investigators are looking into similarities between the Talisay threat and an earlier online shooting threat reported in Inayawan.
If the suspect is identified, the school intends to pursue legal action because of the fear and anxiety caused to students, teachers and other personnel, Dela Cuesta said.
With more than 5,600 students enrolled in the high school department, he said TCNHS continues to strengthen campus security by reviewing guard deployment, increasing police visibility and assigning personnel to strategic areas.
“If there’s police visibility to curb criminality, there’s also teachers’ visibility to guide students,” Dela Cuesta said.
Meanwhile, Talisay City Elementary School principal Roreen Emily Salceda said classes in both the elementary and high school departments were suspended as a precaution because they share the same campus.
She said the elementary department continues to enforce a “No Gate Pass, No Entry” policy for parents and guardians and is equipped with 15 operational closed-circuit television cameras, a paging system and metal detectors for bag inspections.
Salceda also clarified that DepEd Order 6, s. 2026 does not completely prohibit students from using gadgets, saying electronic devices may still be used outside instructional hours.
She said teachers and guidance counselors continue to undergo training on responding to online threats, bullying and other forms of harassment while the school plans to install walk-through metal detectors and an automated gate pass system to further improve campus security.
Mandaue eyes wider patrols
In Mandaue City, Councilor Dante Borbajo introduced a resolution urging all 27 barangays to include schools within their jurisdictions in regular security roving and visibility patrols.
The measure encourages barangays to deploy barangay tanods or members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team inside public and private schools during class days whenever possible.
“We urged barangays to include schools in their regular security roving. This should cover not only public schools but also private schools within their respective jurisdictions,” Borbajo said in Cebuano.
He said schools had requested stronger security and that the proposal seeks to establish a more visible presence inside campuses rather than limiting patrols to surrounding areas.
“Before, barangay tanods would only pass by schools during their patrols. Now, we are working toward deploying personnel inside school campuses to strengthen security,” he said.
Borbajo acknowledged that the limited number of barangay tanods remains a challenge but expressed hope that every school could eventually have at least one assigned security officer.
He also said inspections in schools led to the confiscation of prohibited items, including scissors and Pentel pens, which were turned over to teachers for safekeeping and could be released when needed for school projects.
The Mandaue City Traffic Operations Office is also expected to deploy personnel to schools to complement barangay tanods and the Philippine National Police as part of the City’s preventive security measures. / MI KIZZIAH REEVE TANTOG, VEEJAY CATADMAN, UP CEBU INTERNS / ABC / SHERYN MAE SINOY, UV INTERN