The Department of Education (DepEd) on Friday announced the implementation of stricter protocols to combat security violations inside schools, which will now be considered grave offenses and merit severe disciplinary action.
In a press release dated July 2, these security threats include bomb threats and carrying and concealing the possession of lethal weapons. The move aims to protect learners amid rising school security challenges nationwide.
“Alinsunod sa layunin ni Pangulong Bongbong Marcos na tiyakin ang kapakanan at proteksyon sa mga paaralan, hindi natin papayagan ang anumang banta sa kaligtasan ng ating mga mag-aaral. Responsibilidad nating lahat na siguraduhin na ang bawat paaralan ay ligtas, payapa, at malayo sa takot o karahasan,” said Education Secretary Sonny Angara.
Under the DepEd Order No. 006, Series of 2026, or the Guidelines on Ensuring a Safe and Motivating Learning Environment (ESMLE), bomb threats, even jokes, and bringing firearms or other deadly weapons to school and school activities are considered third-level offenses—the gravest category of offenses.
Students who are proven guilty of third-level offenses will face immediate administrative penalties, including non-readmission at the first offense and exclusion or removal from the institution at the second offense, stated the department.
In addition, schools are mandated to promptly notify law enforcement and relevant agencies, who will levy the appropriate legal actions against offenders.
Aside from bomb jokes and threats and bringing weapons to school, among third-level offenses are joining street gangs, cheating in tests, inflicting serious physical harm within or beyond school premises, bringing illegal drugs and alcohol into schools, acts of lasciviousness, and spreading slanderous or obscene media of oneself, another student, or school personnel.
Students who face non-readmission will not be permitted to enroll in the school they are attending for the next school year, although they will be allowed to finish the current year.
Exclusion, meanwhile, entails the immediate removal of a student from the class roster. Students who are excluded may continue their studies through alternative educational interventions, DepEd said.
Recently, a steady stream of reports on school violence and delinquency has flooded the media: two minors were arrested over a fatal shooting incident in a Tacloban high school on June 22; a ninth grader was turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) following a stabbing incident in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on June 24; two students were caught with a firearm and knife in their bags in Aparri, Cagayan on June 26; and the schools division office in Zamboanga City confirmed yet another stabbing incident on July 1.
