One question raised after the school shooting in Ateneo de Zamboanga on Tuesday was whether this incident justifies the need to allocate confidential funds (CF) within the Department of Education (DepEd)-just like what Vice President Sara Duterte did when she headed the agency.
Despite what happened, several members of the prosecution team still believe that DepEd must not be given confidential funds, as addressing threats, like those from students influenced to instigate violence, should fall on the hands of law enforcement agencies.
‘Unang-una, may mga tamang ahensya o departamento na tumitingin pagdating dito sa mga security. So ang focus dapat ng DepEd ay sa pag-aaral, sa curriculum ng ating mga estudyante. Ngayon, pagdating naman sa mga security, nand’yan ang kapulisan, nand’yan ang ibang mga departamento,’ Manila Rep. Joel Chua, a public prosecutor, said in a press briefing on Tuesday.
(First, there are appropriate agencies or departments that should look into security matters. So the DepEd’s focus should be on studying, crafting the curriculum for our students. Now, in terms of security, that is for the police and other departments to tackle.)
‘So ang dapat na ginagawa ng DepEd ay makipag-ugnayan sa mga tamang ahensya, hayaan natin na ‘yong mga ahensya na may kinalaman sa peace and order, ang LGU (local government units), ang kapulisan, ang defense, hayaan natin na sila ang mag-manage ng security ng mga eskwelahan,’ he added.
(So what the DepEd should have done is to coordinate with the proper agencies, as we should let the agencies involved in maintaining peace and order, like LGUs (local government units), police, defense institutions, let them manage the security inside schools.)
Not trained for crime prevention
According to Chua, DepEd is not trained for crime prevention, as its primary mandate is to build a curriculum and teach students.
‘Eh kasi ang DepEd eh trained para sa school eh, ang kada departamento sa atin, may kanya-kanyang expertise ‘ika nga, may kanya-kanyang focus. Halimbawa, ‘pag dating sa lupaan, oh ‘di ba ang may focus d’yan, DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform). Pagdating sa mga agrikultura, Department of Agriculture. Ang DepEd naman ang focus nito ay sa pag-aaral,’ he said.
(DepEd is trained para for schools, just like every department in our country having their own expertise, their own focus. For example, when we talk about land, that falls under DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform). When it comes to agriculture, Department of Agriculture. DepEd’s focus is on education.)
‘So dapat do’n talaga sila naka-focus. Kasi kung masyado kang maraming ibibigay na focus sa isang departamento, eh baka ‘yong pinaka-focus kung saan dapat sila naka-focus ay hindi na maging focus ng kanilang departamento. So hayaan natin na ‘yong mga kapulisan ang mag-handle n’yan dahil ‘yon naman ang trabaho ng kapulisan, to maintain peace and order,’ he added.
(So they should focus on that. Because if you give a lot of tasks to one department, they might not be able to focus on the things that they are required or mandated to focus on. So let the police force handle that because that is their job: to maintain peace and order.)
On Tuesday morning, the Ateneo de Zamboanga University management confirmed that two individuals died-including a Grade 9 student who was tagged as the shooter-after a shooting incident inside the campus.
In an official statement, the university said it was ‘saddened by the incident’ and assured that the safety of students remains its top priority. Parents and guardians were immediately contacted to pick up their children, while those still on campus were secured by school personnel.
According to the school management, it is coordinating with authorities on a full report and has established official communication channels to provide verified updates.
Duterte, along with her camp and her allies, have maintained several times that there is a need for CFs for both the Office of the Vice President and the DepEd because there are threats that these two agencies can address.
During one of the hearings on Duterte’s impeachment case pending before the Senate Impeachment Court, Senator-judge Robinhood Padilla said that communist groups have been doing recruitment even at the basic education level, which he believes necessitates CF allocations for DepEd.
Inefficient use
But Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, spokesperson for the prosecution panel, said in the same press briefing on Tuesday that shooting incidents could have been prevented if DepEd under Duterte used its confidential funds properly.
‘Maganda sana kung na-implement ‘yong confidential funds nang maayos ng DepEd, eh pagpalagay natin sa mga ganitong pamamaraan, ang question is kung inimplement ba nang maayos at specific ‘yong naging particulars no’ng mga activity na gagawin ng DepEd, eh ‘di sana naiwasan din ‘yong ganitong insidente, kung ‘yan man ‘yong angulo na kanilang gustong dalhin sa usapin na ito,’ he said.
(It would have been good if the confidential funds were implemented properly by DepEd, so we can say that in these circumstances, the question is whether the particular DepEd activities were implemented properly and specifically. If so, we could have prevented these incidents, if that is how they want to frame these discussions.)
‘Kung na-implement nang maayos, eh ‘di dapat walang mangyayaring ganito, ‘di ba? Pero doon sa nakikita natin na liquidation ng confidential funds, eh mukhang mismong implementation nito ay kwestiyonable eh,’ he added.
(If it was implemented properly, then such an incident should not have happened, right? But with how we see it, with the liquidation of confidential funds, even the implementation side seems to be questionable.)
Alonto Adiong said that there is a possibility also that the improper use of confidential funds has contributed to such violent incidents as these were not addressed when DepEd had the chance.
‘So kumbaga, ‘pag titignan natin kung, if it is well implemented, effectively, eh ‘di sana walang ganitong mga insidenteng nangyayari,’ he said.
(So we can look at this through a lens where if it was implemented effectively, we would not have these incidents.)
‘Pero mukhang ang offshoot nito ay ito – ‘yong sinasabing kung itatahi natin sa confidential funds, if that is the angling of their story-then that would only mean one thing: it’s because of the questionable implementation that leads probably to these kinds of incidents in our schools,’ he added.
(But the offshoot of this incident-if they will tie it to confidential funds, if that is the angling of their story-then that would only mean one thing: it’s because of the questionable implementation that probably leads to these kinds of incidents in our schools.)
School-related violence has seen an uptick in the country over the recent months. Last June 22, three students were killed, and five others were wounded when two suspects-who are minors and are students-opened fire inside the San Jose National High School campus in Tacloban City, Leyte.
Both suspects, a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy, both of whom were Grade 9 students, were arrested on the same day. A Glock pistol and a caliber .38 revolver were confiscated from them.
Earlier, several House members released statements, questioning why a student was able to slip guns through despite supposedly heightened security brought by the previous shooting incident in Tacloban.
In separate statements on Tuesday, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, Akbayan party-list Reps. Percival Cendaña, Chel Diokno, and Dadah Kiram Ismula said that another pressing question is why such incidents seem to be normalized now.
Cendaña said that they are concerned why there seems to be a normalization of violence in schools, when campuses should be ‘safe spaces for learning and creativity.’