MANILA (September 21) — The deadly shooting at a South Cotabato high school has renewed scrutiny of whether Philippine schools have enough mental health and counseling personnel to identify distressed learners and respond to warning signs before violence occurs.
The Sept. 18 shooting at Banga National High School left two students and the teenage gunman dead and eight others injured, according to subsequent reports. The incident was the third deadly school shooting reported in the Philippines since June.
The tragedy has triggered competing calls for stronger school security, tighter firearm safeguards and expanded mental health services, as authorities continue to investigate how the student obtained the handgun and whether his reported involvement in an online “true crime” community played a role.
For the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), however, the crisis also exposes a longstanding shortage of guidance and mental health personnel in schools.
Counselors vs. security response
ACT said affected learners need professional debriefing, counseling and psychosocial support, cautioning against responses centered primarily on police presence, armed personnel and active-shooter drills.
The group argued that school violence should not be reduced to individual discipline or blamed solely on teachers, parents or students. It linked the problem to what it described as chronic underinvestment and broader weaknesses in the education system.
ACT chairperson Ruby Bernardo said schools urgently need guidance counselors and mental health and psychosocial programs rather than responses that could turn campuses primarily into security zones.
The group also questioned proposals for expanded surveillance and armed School Resource Officers, arguing that such measures do not address the underlying causes of violence.
The Department of Education, for its part, has said safety and learner well-being are immediate priorities. After the Banga shooting, DepEd deployed psychological first aid and psychosocial support while coordinating with local authorities and law enforcement.
Education Secretary Sonny Angara also acknowledged that the education system was not fully prepared for school shootings and has proposed stronger coordination with local governments and police, including site-specific school safety assessments.
10,000 counselor positions
The debate comes as the government begins implementing a major expansion of school counseling positions under the 2026 budget.
The national budget created 10,000 School Counselor Associate I positions to support learners’ mental health.
The Civil Service Commission in June also approved qualification standards for new school counselor positions under Republic Act 12080, or the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act. The new positions include School Counselor Associates and School Counselors at several levels.
DepEd documents, however, show that the transition involves converting or reclassifying existing guidance positions, with thousands of vacant positions identified for possible conversion.
This means the issue is not simply whether positions have been created, but how quickly qualified personnel can be recruited and deployed, how many learners each professional will serve, and whether schools have adequate systems for sustained intervention.
A broader education crisis
IBON Foundation has placed the recent violence within what it describes as a deeper education crisis.
In an analysis published amid the latest incidents, the independent think tank criticized what it called the government’s emphasis on producing workers for global labor markets while giving less attention to values formation, critical thinking and social responsibility.
IBON also criticized statements that appeared to place responsibility for youth behavior primarily on teachers and parents, arguing that government must address structural problems in the education system.
The criticism followed earlier remarks by Presidential Communications Office spokesperson Claire Castro after the August shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University. Castro later clarified that she was not blaming teachers for school violence but was emphasizing their role in shaping students’ values.
The debate now extends beyond who should be held responsible for individual acts of violence.
At the center is a more practical question: Can schools provide enough trained adults to recognize distress, respond to threats and support children after trauma while also maintaining safe learning environments?
The government is pursuing several tracks at once—mental health services, psychosocial support, school security and coordination with law enforcement. Following the Banga shooting, authorities have also ordered investigations into firearm access and the reported online influences surrounding the student.
For educators and child advocates, however, the challenge is ensuring that the response does not stop at the school gate.
Preventing violence requires attention not only to what happens when a weapon enters a campus, but also to what happens to a young person before a crisis reaches that point—whether warning signs are recognized, whether counseling is accessible, and whether children have trusted adults and functioning support systems to turn to.
