Laoag City to establish school safety measures against violence

By Dominic B. dela Cruz, Staff reporter

Laoag City—The city government of Laoag will establish a comprehensive school safety, violence prevention, and emergency response program for all public and private educational institutions within the city. The initiative aims to provide mechanisms for preventing school-related violence, including shooting incidents, stabbings, armed attacks, and other security risks, through a unified school safety framework.

Laoag Vice Mayor and Sangguniang Panlungsod presiding officer Rey Carlos Fariñas announced the measure in light of the tragic school shooting incident in Tacloban City on June 22, 2026, where minors planned and executed a deadly attack. The incident highlights the urgent need to strengthen school safety measures, early detection systems, and coordinated response protocols to prevent similar occurrences in Laoag City.

Fariñas, who authored the ordinance, cited existing national laws that protect children and provide intervention programs for children in conflict with the law, including Republic Act No. 10627 (Anti-Bullying Act of 2013), Republic Act No. 7610 (Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act), Republic Act No. 11036 (Mental Health Act), and Republic Act No. 9344 (Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006).

He emphasized that the safety and well-being of students, teachers, school personnel, and visitors are among the foremost responsibilities of government. Recent incidents of violence in educational institutions and public places across the country underscore the urgent need for proactive and preventive measures to ensure that schools remain safe havens for learning and personal development.

In line with this, the approved City Ordinance No. 13-2025-018, Series of 2025, otherwise known as the “Laoag City Anti-Bullying Response, Assistance, and Transformative Program for Children (Anti-BRAT Ordinance),” establishes measures to counteract bullying and peer abuse in non-school settings. This complements school-based safety initiatives and reinforces the City Government’s commitment to protect children from violence, harassment, and intimidation across all environments.

While Laoag City has been fortunate to remain free from major incidents of this nature, Fariñas said responsible governance requires preparedness and prevention through a comprehensive school safety framework focused on violence prevention, early intervention, emergency preparedness, coordinated response, and post-incident recovery.

It is now the policy of the city government to protect the life, safety, and welfare of all students, teachers, school personnel, and visitors by establishing preventive, protective, and responsive measures against violence and security threats in all educational institutions. This includes private pre-schools, public and private elementary schools, secondary schools, colleges, universities, and technical-vocational institutions operating within the territorial jurisdiction of Laoag City.

The possession of firearms, bladed weapons, explosives, and other deadly weapons within school premises shall be strictly prohibited, except for duly authorized law enforcement officers performing official duties. Tertiary institutions offering Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) programs and Criminology courses may allow the supervised use of firearms and other instructional arms strictly for academic and training purposes, subject to applicable safety protocols and national regulations.

The city government, through the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) and the Department of Public Safety, in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP), shall establish a School Safety Hotline and an Anonymous/Confidential Reporting System for reporting threats of violence, possession of weapons, planned attacks, suspicious persons, bullying with violent tendencies, and social media threats. The confidentiality of informants will be protected.

In light of the Tacloban school shooting incident, where suspects planned the attack in advance, schools shall adopt proactive measures to detect long-term planning of violent acts. These include intelligence gathering, monitoring of social media threats and suspicious online activity in coordination with law enforcement, maintenance of a confidential database of behavioral red flags (such as obsession with weapons, repeated threats, or evidence of planning), and the establishment of Teen Centers within schools. These centers are designed to provide safe spaces for students to access counseling, peer support, recreational activities, and structured programs that promote mental health, resilience, and positive engagement.

Fariñas also said that all educational institutions are encouraged, subject to available resources, to install and maintain CCTV cameras covering entrances, exits, hallways, common areas, and other strategic locations. Recorded footage shall be retained for at least thirty (30) days and handled in accordance with applicable privacy and data protection laws.

Educational institutions, in coordination with the PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), and CDRRMC, shall also conduct annual safety awareness seminars for parents, students, teachers, and community stakeholders. Topics will include violence prevention, bullying prevention, mental health awareness, social media responsibility, and emergency preparedness.

All schools, together with the PNP, BFP, and CDRRMC, should likewise conduct annual training on active shooter incidents, armed intruder incidents, stabbing attacks, lockdown procedures, barricading procedures, and emergency medical response.

Beyond standard safety drills, schools should also conduct annual scenario-based drills simulating premeditated armed attacks, coordinated with law enforcement and emergency responders. These include annual earthquake drills and at least one lockdown or active assailant drill annually, simulating armed intruder or coordinated attack scenarios, conducted in partnership with law enforcement and emergency responders.

The iPolice App shall be recognized as an official reporting platform for school-related threats and incidents, ensuring direct coordination with law enforcement authorities.

A Safe School Zone is hereby established within one hundred (100) meters from the perimeter of every educational institution. Within the Safe School Zone, the following are prohibited: carrying of deadly weapons except by authorized law enforcement officers; gang-related activities; intimidation and harassment; engaging in the sale, distribution, or trafficking of illegal drugs within school premises or designated safe school zones; any activity that endangers students and school personnel, including but not limited to acts of violence, sexual harassment, gambling, unauthorized assemblies, or other conduct that compromises the safety, discipline, and well-being of the school community; illegal sale or distribution of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, vapes, and e-cigarettes to minors; establishment of billiard halls, pool businesses, or similar recreational establishments that may encourage truancy or unsupervised gatherings of students; and ambulant vending of hazardous toys or items posing safety risks, particularly those marketed to grade school children, such as sharp objects, toxic materials, or unsafe playthings.