AdZU president says school is finding ways to improve campus security
ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 21 August 2026) – Ateneo de Zamboanga University is looking at what more can be done to protect its students and personnel even if authorities have ruled out conspiracy behind Tuesday’s shooting inside its junior high school campus that led to the deaths of two students, University President Fr. Guillrey Anthony Ernald Andal, SJ, said on his Facebook page.
Andal said Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced that findings showed the perpetrator acted on his own, and evidence does not point to religion, bullying, or mistreatment by a teacher as the motive of the attack.
“The Secretary further noted that the University’s safety protocols were consistent with established standards. Even so, we are reviewing what more must be done to protect our students and personnel,” he said.
The police report on the attack is expected in the next few days.
In his post Andal said that while they don’t intend to delay the return of students as “a familiar routine can help in the healing process,” he acknowledged that many of them are still processing what happened.
“The temporary suspension will allow those who need support to receive it. It will also give our faculty and staff time to prepare for a careful return and an orderly return,” he said.
He further said that classes will remain suspended and the return of the junior high school and elementary students will be gradual from August 24 to 28. And from September 1 to September 4, students will be given non-academic activities through an alternative learning modality, focused on emotional well-being, reconnection, and readiness to return.
He said the privacy and dignity of the families involved should be respected.
“They are carrying a loss that no statement can fully express. Every photograph, post, or unverified story can add to their pain. We will not hurry anyone through grief,” he said.
“We will meet our students, our families, our personnel where they are. We will listen and we will continue to walk with them through the days ahead,” he said.
Andal also announced that 92 students, 16 parents, 105 teachers and personnel underwent psychological sessions on Thursday.
But Dr. Norvie Jalani, whose children are enrolled in AdZU said psychological debriefing alone is not enough.
She said healing should also be accompanied by visible preventive action.
“Our children need to know that something has changed. Parents need to know that something has been strengthened. And the entire school community needs to understand what will be different when our children walk through those gates again,” she said.
Jalani, a faculty member of the Ateneo School of Medicine, shared the anxiety she experienced as a parent when she could not locate or contact her Grade 10 daughter immediately after the shooting.
She said her anxiety heightened after seeing videos of the attack being shared online.
Juni Ilimin, a businessman whose children are studying at AdZU, voiced his disappointment over “the flood of irresponsible posts on social media showing the actual video and photos of the incident shared as content, without any thought for the terrible effect this has on the minds of children and the parents already suffering.”
“We must protect our children from scenes that disturb their mental health and scar them for life. No child should be exposed to such brutality, their minds are still growing, still fragile, and they deserve to be nurtured, not confronted with violence. Alongside them are their parents — terrified, anxious, and traumatized, gripped by fear and worrying endlessly: will my child be safe at school tomorrow?” he said.
Meanwhile, a city councilor has proposed an ordinance requiring all schools in the city to strengthen their security protocols with penalties for non-compliance.
Councilor Melchor Sadain said the proposal will be included in the council’s agenda on Monday, August 24.
Sadain said there have been several resolutions in the past calling on schools and the Department of Education to strengthen their security measures, but these have remained unheeded by school authorities.
“That’s why this time we will make it an ordinance with corresponding penalties if they won’t implement,” he said. (Frencie L. Carreon/MindaNews)
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