By South China Morning Post | Created at 2026-09-04 00:10:17 | Updated at 2026-09-04 01:18:07
1 hour ago
As pressure mounts in
the Philippines for authorities to act on strengthening school security after two fatal shootings in eight weeks, safety experts say any measure must look at mitigating violence much earlier, even before a child brings a weapon to the campus gate.
A bill pushed by lawmaker Bam Aquino will require schools to establish a comprehensive safety framework, including localised safety plans with guidelines on prevention, emergency response and recovery.
The bill also includes establishing common standards for safety infrastructure, such as the use of surveillance cameras, mandatory screening and visitor management.
Aquino, who chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, urged immediate approval of the bill as he invoked the names of students who died in the recent school attacks, warning that no more names must be added to the list.
“We cannot accept that this will be part of a normal school life. We cannot wait for the next incident to happen before we act,” Aquino said on August 26.
School shooting in central Philippines exposes ‘systemic failures’, 3 killed and 7 wounded
The Philippines was rocked by two separate student shootings this year: first at a public high school in Tacloban City in central Philippines in June where three pupils died, and then at the Ateneo de Zamboanga Junior High School in Zamboanga City in the south that claimed two lives, including that of the perpetrator.
