Senator Bam Aquino is pushing for the swift passage of his Comprehensive School Safety Act following recent school shooting incidents in Tacloban and Zamboanga.

Aquino urged his fellow senators to support Senate Bill No. 2390, which seeks to establish a nationwide framework for preventing and responding to violence and other threats in schools.

“Marami talagang kailangang gawin and I’m hoping we can get support for the School Safety Act. Ilagay natin doon lahat ng kinakailangan at mga magagandang ideya at isulong po natin ito,” Aquino said.

Aquino, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, said he intends to sponsor the measure on Wednesday.

Under the proposed law, a School Safety Framework would be established at the national level, while every locality would be required to develop its own framework involving schools, government agencies and the community.

The measure also seeks to strengthen the prevention, reporting and response to violence, bullying, cyberbullying and other threats in schools.

Every school would be required to prepare and regularly update a School Safety Plan covering emergency protocols, hotlines, safety infrastructure, digital safety, off-campus activities, community engagement and monitoring.

Aquino, however, said school security should not be limited to physical measures.
He pointed to his recent dialogue with students, parents and officials of Ateneo de Zamboanga University as an example of why the community should also be involved in keeping schools safe.

“Having gone through and talked to the Ateneo de Zamboanga community, iyong administration, iyong mga estudyante, iyong mga magulang, nakikita ko po rin yung point ni Sen. Alan [Cayetano]. It’s not just about the security measures, talaga nagsisimula talaga ito with a community aspect,” he said.

Aquino also cited other measures outside the jurisdiction of his committee that he said should be considered to address the problem.

These include proposals to restrict social media access based on age, impose stiffer penalties for loose firearms, hold parents or guardians accountable when their firearms are misused, and amend the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) law.

“It takes a community to raise a child, it also takes multiple bills and multiple reforms to try to address this issue. Aksiyunan natin, ipasa natin ang mga panukalang ito,” Aquino said.

He also stressed the role of parents in preventing violence, particularly by being more aware of what their children are seeing and doing online.

He encouraged parents to use parental controls on their children’s devices to limit access to violent games and other inappropriate content.

“Nakikita po natin na kapag ang mga magulang, aktibo talaga at nakabantay sa mga nakikita ng mga anak nila, iyon ho siguro iyong pinakamalaking prevention sa mga pangyayaring ito,” he said.

Aquino also called for the training of student leaders, teachers and other community members, including religious leaders, so they can recognize warning signs and respond before problems escalate.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, meanwhile, said the Senate is ready to discuss proposals seeking to limit young people’s access to social media.IMT