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Government

Daily intelligence on the Government beat

Sunday, November 8, 2026

Issue #137

DepEd Seeks P500M for School Guards After Shootings

Education Secretary Sonny Angara asked technology and social media companies to strengthen age verification and remove violent content after three fatal school shootings in three months, while the Department of Education moves to hire additional security guards with P500 million added to the 2027 budget bill.

By the MMI Government Desk

DepEd Seeks P500M for School Guards After Shootings

Education Secretary Sonny Angara called on technology and social media companies to tighten age-verification systems and take down content that promotes violence, after three fatal school shootings in the Philippines within three months. The same day, Angara said the Department of Education (DepEd) will hire additional school security guards using P500 million inserted into the General Appropriations Bill, the proposed national budget for 2027. The two announcements, made within hours of each other on Saturday, describe the same problem from opposite ends: the physical safety of school grounds and the online spaces where radicalization is said to spread.

The shootings Angara cited were at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City in June, Ateneo de Zamboanga University in August, and Banga National High School in South Cotabato in September. School shootings have historically been rare in the Philippines, which is why the sequence drew attention from the President and from the education department. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed government agencies to strengthen school security and to look for ways to prevent similar incidents.

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