The Department of Education is set to establish a Joint School Safety Task Force with the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police following the latest school shooting incident in South Cotabato.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the inter-agency group will conduct security audits in public schools nationwide to identify vulnerabilities and determine measures needed to improve campus safety.
The assessment will cover key areas such as access control, threat reporting mechanisms, emergency response procedures, and coordination between schools and local law enforcement agencies.
Angara said the information gathered from the security audits will be used as a basis for developing concrete measures at the school, division, local, regional, and national levels.
The initiative comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. directed authorities to strengthen school security and address potential gaps following the shooting at Banga National High School.
The incident, which left three students dead, is the third reported school shooting in the Philippines within the past three months.
(Photo Courtesy: DepEd PH)
