Cebu schools under heightened alert once more

Local

FOLLOWING another deadly school shooting in the country, officials in Cebu have stepped up to prevent a similar tragedy from happening.

Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro on Tuesday, Aug. 18 ordered law enforcers to conduct inspections and ensure security in all schools in the province, both private and public.

“In light of the recent shooting incident inside a senior high school in Zamboanga that resulted in two fatalities, I directed the PNP (Philippine National Police) Provincial Director and all our COPs (Chiefs of Police) to conduct inspections and to heighten security in both public and private schools.

Likewise, police officers will be deployed to every school, she added.

The National Bureau of Investigation-Central Visayas (NBI-7), at the same time, urged schools here to avail of free lectures aimed at protecting students and faculty members during an active shooting situation.

So far, only four private schools in Metro Cebu have accepted their invitation, said Maria Contessa Lastimoso, public information officer at NBI-7.

“We’re conducting these seminars for free every two weeks… Let’s not wait for something like this to happen. Awareness is key. Security is everything. Both online and offline,” Lastimoso told reporters.

On Tuesday, a high school student at a prominent Catholic university in Zamboanga City opened fire, killing two fellow schoolmates.

The gunman, a grade 9 student, reportedly brought a pistol and a M16 rifle onto the school campus, and fired at the students inside the classroom.

He eventually took his own life.

The shooting in Zamboanga City came just two months after a similar attack killed three students in a public school in Tacloban City.

After June’s shooting tragedy in Tacloban, Cebu saw a spike in shooting and bombing hoaxes that prompted class suspensions, with students and parents equally alarmed.(RBE)