DepEd launches School Digital Safety Campaign after Banga National High School shooting
The Philippine Department of Education will roll out a digital safety campaign for students, teachers and parents following a school shooting on Friday at Banga National High School that killed three and wounded eight. Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the initiative covers safe chatting, cyberb
The Department of Education (DepEd) will launch a School Digital Safety Campaign after the fatal shooting at Banga National High School on Friday that killed three students, including the 16-year-old Grade 9 shooter, and wounded eight others.
Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara said in a news release that keeping children safe today requires understanding their digital world. “We need to give children, parents, and teachers the knowledge and tools to navigate these spaces safely,” he added.
The campaign covers safe chatting and online behaviour, grooming and online child exploitation, cyberbullying and online harassment, privacy, scams, healthy screen time, and protecting personal information. It will also address warning signs related to children’s online presence and how to report cases of endangerment.
Educating parents about their children’s digital lives is a key component. “Parents do not have to know every app or platform their children use,” Mr. Angara said. “But they need to keep the lines of communication open. Our children should know that when something online scares them, pressures them, or makes them uncomfortable, they can tell a trusted adult and ask for help.”
The initiative complements existing school safety measures such as drills, security cameras, metal detectors, perimeter fencing, and increased police presence. DepEd previously requested P8 billion in funding to hire more security guards in public schools, noting that only 2,494 security guards are manning at least 48,000 public schools nationwide.
This is the third fatal school shooting in the country since June. “Keeping them safe is a shared responsibility of the school, the home, government, and the community,” Mr. Angara said.
