1,295 security personnel for almost 2,000 DepEd-run schools in Region 11
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 22 August 2026) – There are only 1,295 security personnel for over 1.1 million enrollees this year in almost 2,000 schools in Region 11 under the Department of Education (DepEd).
The data was based on the agency’s “School Safety and Security Audit Round 2 Tracker” as of August 10 this year, DepEd 11 spokesperson Janielito S. Atillo said during a press conference Wednesday at the Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City.
The press conference came a day after a school shooting inside the Ateneo de Zamboanga Junior High School campus in Zamboanga City, which left two students dead, including the shooter who killed himself.
Atillo said the figure does not include security personnel augmentation such as the police.
He said two or three security personnel would be enough for a small school.
“But if you have thousands already of students and you only have 20-30 security personnel, then you have a monstrous problem to contend with. So you can really see how difficult that would be,” he said.
“We do not allow anyone to get inside [the schools] without getting through the protocol now for security. You have to submit yourself, really, even if you’re a teacher, even if you’re a learner, even if you’re a member of the school community…for inspection,” he added.
The document also noted that there are only 512 hand-held metal detectors for public schools in the region.
“We cannot provide for all schools, but the gesture of trying to provide is with us, and in fact we have procured or we have bought some metal detectors for some schools and it’s continuing,” he said, noting that inspections remain to be plain visual inspections.
Atillo urged parents to check on their children even before going to school, saying schools should not be blamed for the incidents that transpired inside the campus.
“This is all our responsibility, from the house, from the community, and from the school, we should work as one,” he said in Cebuano.
“You cannot blame the teachers because the teachers are there to teach their lesson for the children,” he said.
Inspection of bags, vehicles
Atillo said that aside from students, drivers of vehicles will also be subjected to inspection and required to submit their driver’s licenses. They will be asked to open parts of their vehicles if deemed necessary by the security personnel.
He said in case a full-bag inspection is necessary, it will be done in the presence of the students concerned and their parents.
Individuals carrying firearms, including members of the military or those with permits to carry, will have to surrender them to the assigned personnel, he said.
Major Ma. Teresita Gaspan, Davao City Police Office spokesperson, said schools should require the inspection of the inside of vehicles, especially in private schools with parking areas inside the campus.
She said schools should improve their security by investing in security personnel, acquiring metal detectors, and making bag inspection a habit.
She also urged private gunowners and law enforcement personnel to be responsible in terms of keeping their firearms in safe storage.
Atillo said they are taking threats “very, very seriously” even if they sound like a joke.
“We do not just put it in the wayside… we connect immediately to our government enforcement authorities,” he said.
Gaspan, who described schools in the city as “generally safe,” said no suspects have been arrested in connection to the bomb jokes targeting some schools in the city.
However, one person was arrested during the Kadayawan Festival for a comment on Facebook live that there was a bomb behind a stage used for the event. (Razl EJ Teman/MindaNews)
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