By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet

Underscoring the delicate nature of sensitive news akin to the Zamboanga City school shooting incident on Tuesday, Malacañang said that it is moving forward with formulating additional safeguards to protect the welfare of minors, their kin, and others involved in such unfortunate circumstances.

In a briefing on Wednesday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that these steps are also undertaken to streamline the messaging that reaches the consciousness of Filipino youth, which should be focused on good values and not graphic descriptions of violence.

Usec. Castro went on to reference the statement of PCO Secretary Dave Gomez on this topic: “We reiterate our position that in incidents involving minors, all state media must exercise the highest level of caution in how such tragedies are reported.

We do not impose restrictions on private media organizations. However, we respectfully appeal to them to exercise extreme care and responsibility in their coverage.”

Important clarifications

She went on to cite a statement from the Department of Education (DepEd) with regard to this touchy subject, with the agency hard at work in accomplishing the Nationwide School Safety Audit and the implementation of strengthened school safety protocols even before the Tacloban school shooting incident transpired on June 22.

In accordance with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to ensure learners’ safety across campuses nationwide, DepEd partnered with local governments and school heads as they led the way in conducting routine inspections, installing metal detectors and CCTV cameras, and hiring additional security personnel.

The Malacañang official went on to read another statement from the Philippine National Police (PNP), which clarified that they did not cease monitoring, assessment, and coordination with school authorities and local governments in the wake of the Tacloban school shooting incident as they confront the recent incident at Ateneo de Zamboanga University.

Usec. Castro discussed, “Tungkol naman sa posibilidad ng copycat threats, hindi tayo dapat magbigay ng konklusyon hangga’t wala tayong validated information kung may report ang isang particular o credible na banta.

Agad natin itong i-va-validate at i-aassess ng ating kapulisan, kasama ang mga concerned agencies. May existing security measures at coordination mechanisms na tayong ginagawa sa local level at patuloy natin itong ina-assess depende sa sitwasyon ng bawat lugar.”

The statement concluded with an emphasis on preventive measures and immediate police response, with PNP stressing that certain operational details remain under wraps to avoid compromising the ongoing probe into the Zamboanga City school shooting incident that yielded 2 casualties.

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