Bacolod student blade assault sparks mandatory security checks in public schools

John Paul Siapel 

A 12-year-old Grade 7 student surrendered to police after allegedly stabbing a 14-year-old Grade 8 schoolmate outside a public high school in Barangay Sum-ag, Bacolod City on Monday, June 29.

Following this development, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced a transition from random security screenings to mandatory bag inspections at campus entrances nationwide to curb a violent spike in juvenile campus incidents.

Outside school stabbing incident

Initial police reports indicated that a sudden commotion broke out in front of Sum-ag National High School during dismissal hours before bystanders discovered the injured student.

“The victim suffered stab wounds in his left arm and the left side of his body, according to initial investigation by authorities,” investigators from Bacolod City Police Station 8 stated in their official case dispatch.

Bystanders immediately rushed the injured Grade 8 student to a nearby medical facility for treatment following the afternoon disturbance.

“Follow-up police operations led to the surrender of the 12-year-old suspect, who was classified as a child in conflict with the law,” the police desk officers confirmed in a follow-up tactical report.

Social welfare authorities have since taken custody of the minor suspect for proper intervention, while local investigators have yet to determine the motive behind the attack as their review continues.

Mandatory security rollouts

In direct response to the nationwide surge in campus crimes, DepEd shifted its policy framework to enforce compulsory security screenings for all learners.

Explaining the new directive, DepEd Assistant Secretary for Strategic Management Roger Masapol discussed the agency’s upcoming security measures, noting that the central office is designing a combination of protocols to handle logistical challenges in large-capacity campuses.

“Before the Tacloban incident, inspections in our schools were random. So now we are looking into making it mandatory,” Masapol said on behalf of the agency.

Masapol further noted that the central office is looking at a combination of security measures because manual bag inspection in high-capacity campuses with up to 14,000 students presents severe logistical challenges.

“We will also use hand-held metal detectors during the inspection,” Masapol added.

Concurrently, the Department of Budget and Management clarified that public schools maintain 2,494 security positions nationwide, while the police deployed officers to Tacloban campuses following a deadly shooting at San Jose National High School.

Similar localized operations in Cagayan and Cavite also yielded confiscated handguns from minor students during heightened security sweeps. 

Campus mental health crisis

During a House committee hearing, lawmakers stressed that long-term campus safety requires an expansion of psychosocial services alongside physical security upgrades.

Data from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) revealed that severe shortages of qualified guidance personnel have left thousands of public schools without adequate mental health support systems.

Furthermore, DepEd Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development Willie Cabral disclosed that bureaucratic delays have stalled the hiring of crucial intervention staff.

“We submitted a request for the creation of positions of School Counselor Associate I items to the Department of Budget and Management,” Cabral stated during his legislative testimony.

Cabral added that the proposed employment items still await qualification standard approvals from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and has left campus administrators without necessary counseling tools to address underlying student grievances and bullying early.