Some students find it ‘unusual’ and ‘weird’ to take part in shooting practice.
MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of students at the Manila Science High School joined the first shooting exercise Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday, July 15, as part of strengthening efforts school safety and prevent campus violence.
During the exercise, more than 1,700 students from grades 7 to 12 and teachers observed “run-and-hide” protocol as someone pretending to be a shooter “infiltrated” the campus.
The police were also there to help them and tried to arrest the attacker.
“We will do (drilling) as often as we can. That needs to be repeated over and over again (We need to repeat),” Education Secretary Sonny Angara he told reporters.
Drill came next School shooting attack in Tacloban City on June 22, which killed three students and injured 20 others.
Mental health services
Rappler spoke to some students who found it “unusual” and “shocking” to participate in a shooting exercise, since school shootings are unheard of in the country.
Students like 17-year-old Raya Pechayco hope DepEd will ensure that everyone has access to mental health services.
“It is very important to monitor children’s mental health, our mental health,” he said in a mixture of English and Filipino.
“Continuous monitoring and communication with students can create a healthy and safe school environment,” he added.
The university reporter also asked Angara about DepEd’s measures to prevent incidents of violence in schools. The DepEd chief admitted that they currently have a limited budget, but vowed to seek more funding guards and metal detectors for 2027.
He also mentioned that the organization employs 10,000 school counselor partnerspending approval from the Department of Budget and Management.
– Rappler.com
