MANILA – Senators on Monday rallied behind a broader approach to school safety that would enlist families, teachers, mental health professionals, community leaders and even technology providers in preventing violence instead of relying mainly on guards, surveillance cameras and emergency drills.
The discussion followed the Department of Education’s (DepEd) decision to defer its planned live-shooter attack drill amid concerns that highly realistic simulations could cause unintended psychological harm to students.
Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano proposed holding community town hall meetings in schools while the drill is being studied, bringing together parents, teachers, students, religious leaders, school officials, business groups and other stakeholders to identify problems unique to each community.
“Let's find what is the cancer, what is moving the students to this,” Cayetano said, arguing that authorities should look deeper into factors affecting students rather than assume that the same security threat exists in every school.
Senate President Win Gatchalian supported the approach, saying communities themselves have a better grasp of the influences and problems confronting their children.
“Ako naniniwala po ako dun sa adage na (I believe in the adage that) it takes a village to raise a child,” Gatchalian said.
He said the Senate Committee on Basic Education could incorporate the proposal into its review of pending school safety measures.
Committee chair Sen. Bam Aquino said his visit to Ateneo de Zamboanga following the Aug. 18 school shooting reinforced the need to go beyond conventional security measures.
Aquino noted that the school already had 26 security guards, prompting him to reassess an earlier emphasis in the proposed School Safety Act on additional personnel and closed-circuit television cameras.
“It's not just about the security measures. Talagang nagsisimula talaga ito (This really starts) with a community aspect,” Aquino said.
He said the bill would promote school safety frameworks tailored to local conditions and define the roles of parents, student leaders, teachers and other members of the community in prevention and response.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros, meanwhile, highlighted recommendations by the Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA) and Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PSCAP) for less potentially traumatic alternatives to realistic shooter simulations.
“At finally, meron po silang rekomendasyon ng isang joint mental health task group composed of DepEd, DOH, and specialty groups katulad po nila sa PPA at sa PSCAP para magbuo po ng framework at mga kongkretong programa na epektibo at hindi unintentionally magdadagdag ng harm sa ating mga estudyante (Finally, they also recommended a joint mental health task group composed of DepEd, DOH and specialty groups such as the PPA and PSCAP to develop a framework and concrete programs that are effective and would not unintentionally cause additional harm to our students),” Hontiveros said.
The groups also recommended alternatives such as tabletop exercises, advance notice and the involvement of school mental health professionals.
Sen. Joel Villanueva widened the proposed response to include the digital environment, saying schools and families also need to address children's exposure to violent and harmful content online.
He cited efforts by telecommunications and internet companies to block websites carrying school shooting footage and other extreme violent content, while stressing that the problem would require action beyond government alone.
“Hindi po kayang resolbahin ng isang bill o ng isang tao o ng isang ahensya lamang (This cannot be solved by one bill, one person or one agency alone),” Villanueva said.
Aquino said he plans to sponsor the School Safety Act on Wednesday, citing the shootings in Tacloban and Zamboanga that occurred within about a month and a half as reason to accelerate legislative action.
At the end of the discussion, Gatchalian referred the senators’ manifestations to the committee on basic education for consideration alongside other proposals addressing school violence and student safety. (PNA)
