BY DAVE SUAN ALBARADO

Provincial, city and municipal officials in Bohol have moved to tighten school security and offer cash rewards for information after a wave of threats against schools this week, compounding fears sparked by the Aug. 18, 2026 shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University that left two students dead, including the gunman.

The Department of Education (DepEd) Bohol has strengthened security measures in schools following the Zamboanga shooting and a series of local threats, Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Faye Luarez told the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Education on Aug. 20, 2026.

Luarez presented the measures during a meeting chaired by Board Member Nathaniel Binlod.

She said the Bohol Schools Division Office is carrying out a directive from DepEd Region 7 Director Arturo Bayocot to reinforce security at school gates and prevent deadly weapons from entering campuses.

The steps include purchasing metal detectors to screen bags and packs carried by students and personnel.

Principals have been directed to meet with teachers to identify preventive measures suited to each school’s situation, and student organizations are being encouraged to join focus group discussions on safety solutions.

Bayocot also ordered schools to remain vigilant and keep safety and security on the agenda of DepEd management meetings.

Security was tightened further after threats hit several schools on Aug. 19, including in Catigbian, Balilihan, Clarin, Sagbayan and Ubay.

Luarez said the goal is to strengthen prevention and preparedness across the province.

3rd District Board Member Greg Jala has proposed a province-wide assessment of school security following the Zamboanga shooting, citing it as a warning for Bohol to act before a tragedy occurs locally.

Jala raised the proposal during a privilege speech at the Aug. 18 regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

He called for a review of security at both public and private schools, covering entrances, perimeter fences, security personnel, visitor control and emergency procedures.

He also pushed for closer coordination between schools, the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO), local police, barangays and emergency responders, including regular lockdown and evacuation drills.

Jala proposed creating a Provincial School Safety and Security Program covering security assessments, emergency protocols, a threat-reporting mechanism, and coordination among schools, police, barangays and parents.

The proposal was referred to the joint Committee on Peace, Order and Public Safety and Committee on Education for further action.

FIREARMS

The Tagbilaran City Council is reviewing rules that bar security guards from carrying firearms inside schools, a policy question raised in the wake of the Zamboanga shooting.

Councilor Fausto “Bebot” Budlong, who chairs the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Peace, Order and Public Safety, raised the issue during a regular session led by Vice Mayor Adam Jala.

Budlong proposed reviewing DepEd policies and circulars on the firearms ban, arguing that armed guards could help deter crime and better protect students and teachers.

Councilor Jose Floro Ringca, who chairs the Committee on Education, said many schools already had security measures in place before the Zamboanga incident and that he would monitor current safety protocols in the city’s public schools.

He said he may convene another meeting with the peace and order committee to check whether schools are consistently enforcing their safety measures.

Schools in Balilihan and Catigbian received a fresh threat this week through a Facebook post from an account identified as “Dump Kim.”

The threatened schools include Haguilanan High School in Catigbian, and Hanopol National High School, Cong. Pablo Malasarte National High School and San Roque National High School in Balilihan.

Balilihan Mayor Trisha Chatto offered a P100,000 reward for information leading to the identity of the person behind the post and asked the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group to investigate.

She warned that whoever was responsible would be pursued, and police personnel have since been deployed to the affected schools.

Chatto appealed to the public for information to aid the investigation.

In a Facebook post on Aug. 19, she said security at Balilihan’s schools, particularly high schools, has been reinforced with police, DepEd and barangay support, and urged parent-teacher associations to back the effort.

She asked residents to report any information related to threats against peace and order in schools or the community.

A person of interest has since been identified in the Catigbian and Balilihan threat case.

Catigbian Mayor Benjie Oliva said during an emergency Municipal Peace and Order Council meeting that the individual behind the post could be a student or someone familiar with the schools. PNP, forensic and cybercrime personnel continue gathering evidence to determine the source of the threat. Four personnel from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion have been deployed to affected schools until Thursday, and student frisking has been added to security measures.

Oliva also offered P100,000 reward for information leading to the suspect’s identification and arrest.

BOMB THREATS

A bomb threat was also posted on social media against Alturas Talibon and the Talibon Municipal Hall, prompting an emergency response.

Talibon Mayor Janet Garcia said authorities inspected both locations and found no explosives. The post was later deleted by the person who made it.

Garcia said the individual identified as having posted the threat is a minor now in police custody, and that investigators are looking into a report that someone else had directed the minor to make the post.

Operations at Alturas Talibon and the municipal hall have since returned to normal, though LGU employees who had been on overtime were sent home as a precaution.

ATENEO TRAGEDY

Two students, including the gunman, died Tuesday after a Grade 9 student opened fire with two firearms inside a classroom at Ateneo de Zamboanga University’s junior high school, then killed himself, authorities said.

The attack happened around 7:45 a.m. at the school’s Tumaga campus in Barangay Tumaga. Police identified the suspect as Mohammad Mael Jalani.

Officials said he entered a fourth-floor classroom carrying a 9mm Glock pistol and a rifle, fired first at a teacher without hitting anyone, then shot and killed a Grade 10 student.

He then went up to the fifth floor and took his own life, according to preliminary police findings. Some accounts placed the final act on the third floor; authorities have not finalized the sequence.

At least nine other people were injured, according to local media reports citing officials, though tallies varied across initial police statements.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government said Jalani livestreamed the attack using a body-worn camera, in footage later verified by international wire services showing him moving through hallways and firing into classrooms.

University president Fr. Ernald Andal confirmed the two fatalities and said there was no longer an active shooter. The school said students were accounted for and that parents were contacted to collect their children.

Firearms traced to suspect’s father

Investigators said one of the weapons was a service pistol issued by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to Jalani’s father, Lt. Lars Jalani, district commander of the agency’s Enforcement and Security Services unit at the Port of Zamboanga.

The other was his father’s licensed personal firearm. Police said Jalani took both from his father’s vehicle before entering the campus.

BOC Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno relieved the elder Jalani of his post pending an investigation into whether department protocols on firearm storage were violated.

Nepomuceno said the move was not an admission of wrongdoing but was needed to ensure an impartial probe.