Senator Erwin Tulfo said Thursday that responsibility for the fatal school shootings should not rest solely with schools, citing shortcomings involving school security, teachers, parents, guardians, and firearm owners, while calling for greater attention to students’ behavior and well-being.
“What happened, not only in Zamboanga but also in Tacloban later, two shooting incidents. I think, hindi lang po, the school failed. Everybody failed. The school, the family, the parents failed. Relatives or guardians of those children failed,” Tulfo said during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality.
He also questioned the security measures at Ateneo de Zamboanga University following the August 18 shooting, particularly the screening procedures for students depending on how they enter the campus.
He also raised concerns over school security protocols, saying students arriving by private vehicle could reportedly proceed directly to the school hallways, while those arriving by tricycle, pedicab, or on foot were subjected to stricter security checks, including screening with metal detectors.
“If naka-kotse daw, diretso sa hallway yung bata, sa classroom. Pag naka-tricycle, naka-pedicab, o naglalakad, dadaan sa katakot-takot na screening, may mga metal detector. Pero pag nakasasakyan, lalo na pag mamahaling sasakyan, bababa yung bata, sasaludo na lang yung gwardiya, diretso na sa hallway,” he said.
Tulfo also criticized school personnel over reported threats allegedly made by the student before the shooting, saying the matter should have been reported to authorities so preventive measures could have been taken.
“The teachers also failed. Narinig na pala na nagbanta yung bata na babarilin yung school. Walang action, di ba?” he said.
Meanwhile, Tulfo has urged parents to regularly communicate with their children and pay closer attention to signs of emotional distress, while schools and teachers should take reports of threats or troubling behavior seriously.
“‘Yung parents po, because we're so busy, because we have work, we're so engrossed with many things in life. Napapabayaan na ho natin mga anak natin. We don't talk to them. We don't communicate with our children. Siguro po, once in a while, we have to say, Kumusta anak?... Please, please talk to your children, talk to your child. Kung nag-iisa po yan, you think he's okay or she's okay, para malaman ho ninyo what's going on inside his or her mind,” Tulfo said.
The senator added: “Malay mo, hindi po siya bayulente pero deep down inside, she wants to, he or she wants to end his or her life. There's so many instances, there's many things like that. Mga kabataan ngayon, they're so fragile. It is because napapabayaan po natin,” he said.
“We have to start acting now before it's too late. We have to start dealing with them, talking to them,” he noted.
Tulfo suggested that schools adopt stricter policies on threats, similar to how authorities respond to bomb threats at airports, regardless of whether the threat is initially dismissed as a joke.
He said school security personnel or teachers should report such threats to school authorities, who could then coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to determine the appropriate response.
Tulfo again appealed to parents to remain attentive to their children's behavior and emotional well-being, regardless of whether they appear withdrawn or cheerful.
“Please, please, before it's too late, talk to your children…Kung yung isa malungkutin, talk to the child. Kung yung isa masiglahin, still talk to the child because we'll never know because that might be the last day. The last day that he or she leaves for school, that's the last day that you see him or her alive. So, we all failed. Everybody failed. Yung sa Tacloban at saka sa Zamboanga,” Tulfo added.
