I have spent most of my life in schools. It became my place of building yourself with others.
I grew up with many teachers with different ways of encouraging us to excel in our studies. Hearing that in order to fully unlock our potential, we have to throw away the fear that we have.
I always thought of a school to be a safe space for young people to learn, build, and imagine their future. But now terrifying events happen all over the places.
Which with recent incidents around the country is an eye opener. A wake up call on how even places that are meant to protect children cannot be exempted from violence.
On September 18, 2026, a Grade 9 student reportedly fired a gun inside a campus in South Cotabato. The shooting killed two fellow schoolmates and later the student himself, while eight others were injured.
What’s more concerning is how this event is not only happening in South Cotabato. This is the third fatal school shooting incident since June.
Following the incidents from Tacloban City and Zamboanga City, the mass shooting risks lives. Many families lose loved ones from a teenager kid.
Philippine authorities have reported that the firearms used in these incidents belonged to the guardians or parents of the students. What becomes more alarming is how these minors were able to gain access to firearms.
This is not just an issue of firearm storage. The tears are from children who are not ready to encounter such as this violence.
Fixing the security at this point would change a lot. Better late than never.
The issue is not simply about security, it is rooted deeply in the responsibility that guides these students at home. What has to guard is the relationship with your child
I also think that banning toward online platforms, such as games or hangout spaces, is a clownish investigation. It’s a band-aid solution that proves the lack of competence in our system.
Do lawmakers, local governments, schools, and authorities not have coordination in the first place to be able to protect children? The lack of trust in adults, including their parents, becomes part of the problem.
If we see the shake-up of the system after these incidents, it creates a gap in actually addressing the tragedy. We don’t want to wait for another student to become a victim.
It is a priveledge to have someone to guide you. Because it’s a different league for kids in online world.
But we can not normalize just blaming what we consume online, without knowing what actually those are. Normalize to supervise children.
So if the first home fails, the second home has to also find their way in. The educational system, has to work on making the space safe enough to trust the adults around them.
It’s time to take concerns seriously. It’s time to prioritize access to appropriate professional support when they students struggling.
Because how many more apps to investigate? what are we going to keep doing if we hear another fire shots at school?
I hope we can still say the phrase, “There is no room for fear here.” Because a room is not filled with fear from gunshots.
Classrooms should be open again to welcome students for their lessons, friends to encounter, and futures to build. Not for students to wonder whether they will leave this room to get home safely, or whether it will just become a room of fear.
