These were the words uttered by Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youth, as he addressed the chamber's plenary on Wednesday, August 19, visibly affected by the latest shooting incident involving young learners a day before.
Speaking after he filed Senate Bill No. 2413, or the Safe Schools and Violence Prevention Bill, which seeks to establish a comprehensive national framework to protect students, teachers, and school personnel from violence and other threats to their safety, the senator stressed that schools must remain “zones of peace and learning."
“Gaya ng paulit-ulit kong sinasabi: ang mga paaralan ay dapat manatiling zones of peace and learning. Ipinagkakatiwala ng mga magulang ang kanilang mga anak sa mga guro at pamunuan ng paaralan dahil naniniwala sila na ligtas at inaalagaan ang kanilang mga anak. Hindi kailanman dapat mabahiran ng takot at karahasan ang mga institusyong ito,” Go said.
The lawmaker made the call following recent incidents of violence in Philippine schools, including the shooting at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University high school campus and an earlier shooting in Tacloban City, which he said underscore the need to examine school safety from a broader perspective.
Go expressed his condolences to the families of those who died and those injured in the Zamboanga incident.
“Bilang chairman ng Senate Committee on Youth at isang Mindanaoan po, ako po’y nasasaktan sa mga nangyayari. Itong pangyayaring ito ay nangyari lang po recently sa Tacloban City at ngayon naman po sa Mindanao, sa Zamboanga,” he said.
The senator called for an immediate, thorough, and comprehensive investigation into the Zamboanga City incident, particularly how the firearm entered the school and how a minor gained access to it.
At the same time, he said the series of violent incidents in schools requires government to examine the wider conditions affecting young people and educational institutions.
“Ano na po ba ang nangyayari sa loob ng ating mga paaralan? Ano na po ba ang kinahaharap ng ating mga estudyante at kabataan? Sunod-sunod na po ito at nangangailangan nang tingnan mula sa isang mas malawak na perspektiba,” he said.
Go emphasized that school violence should not be approached solely as a peace and order concern.
He clarified through the broader policy approach that mental health support forms only one part of a comprehensive school safety system, together with violence prevention, child protection, physical security, emergency preparedness, responsible reporting, medical response, and coordination among government agencies.
Under SBN 2413, educational institutions would be covered by a National Safe Schools Framework built around prevention, protection, preparedness, response, and recovery.
The proposed measure covers public and private basic education schools, higher education institutions, and technical-vocational institutions. It calls for nationally consistent but risk-based safety standards while requiring schools to account for their particular locations, facilities, student populations, and identified hazards.
Every educational institution would be required to prepare and regularly update a School Safety and Emergency Preparedness Plan and conduct at least one comprehensive safety risk assessment every school year.
Under the bill, the multidisciplinary teams may include school administrators, guidance counselors or qualified mental health professionals, child protection officers, teachers, health personnel, social workers, security personnel, and, when warranted, representatives from law enforcement.
The proposal expressly provides that threat assessments must be based on objective behavior and context and cannot rely solely on a student’s mental health diagnosis, disability, social background, beliefs, or other protected characteristics.
The senator has separately filed SBN 176, which seeks to establish Mental Health Offices in all public higher education institutions to provide counseling services, trained mental health professionals, and round-the-clock mental health hotlines for students.
The Safe Schools and Violence Prevention bill would also establish confidential and accessible reporting mechanisms through which students, parents, teachers, personnel, and community members can report credible threats, planned attacks, weapons, severe bullying, online threats, serious self-harm risks, and other major safety concerns.
For serious incidents, the measure lays down duties involving emergency medical attention, immediate protection of victims, prompt parent or guardian notification, preservation of evidence, referral to appropriate authorities, and post-incident review.
It likewise proposes stronger coordination among schools, local government units, police, firefighters, health authorities, socia
Senator Bong Go
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