With the government vowing that they will continue to assist members of the school community who were affected by the tragic incident.
On Monday, July 6, in-person classes resumed at San Jose National High School (SJNHS) in Tacloban City, the site of the tragic school shooting incident that claimed the lives of three students and injured more than a dozen individuals last June 22.
Following the immediate implementation of comprehensive measures for the safety and recovery of the school, which was rolled out by the Department of Education (DepEd).
According to Education Secretary Sonny Angara, the agency is committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for the resumption of face-to-face classes at SJNHS and stressed the importance of balancing the continuation of education with full recovery.
He underscored that the department will not rush the emotional recovery of those affected.
“[O]ur immediate priority is to wrap our learners and teachers in a blanket of security and psychosocial care, recognizing that true learning cannot genuinely resume where fear remains,” Angara said, citing a directive from President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.
This return to school is part of the the department’s recently launched nationwide School Safety Campaign, which aims to raise the level of security on campuses and strengthen mechanisms for the protection of students nationwide.
Moreover, this campaign also mandates that school safety audits to assess and strengthen weaknesses in school infrastructure be donr.
Meanwhile, following the incident, Angara also immediately visited the victims and their families, as well as the affected teachers and school staff.
He also met with local authorities to lay out a unified and comprehensive response to the incident.
According to the DepEd, support the severely affected and traumatized students of SJNHS has been given the flexible learning options along with the physical return to classrooms to ensure that learning continues without burdening them.
Angara further noted, “By offering flexible learning pathways alongside a heavily fortified environment, we are giving our traumatized learners the grace, time, and space they need to heal without being left behind academically.”
Meanwhile, extensive security upgrades have been completed at the school such as the installation of additional CCTV cameras, walk-through metal detectors, perimeter fencing, and more frequent police patrols.
The school also conducted a thorough cleaning and repainting of the facilities to restore their order.
As for the classroom where the incident occurred, it has been completely converted into an office and will no longer be used as a classroom.
Aside from physical security, DepEd is working with local authorities and partner organizations to further strengthen mental health and learner protection systems by establishing continuous Psychological First Aid, counseling, and confidential reporting channels for the safety of students.