A string of security incidents across Bohol province has prompted officials to suspend classes, investigate threats and confront concerns about gang recruitment in schools, authorities said this week.
In Jagna, Mayor Mark Louie Monungolh suspended classes at all levels in public and private schools following a threat posted on social media.
The Jagna Municipal Police Station, along with other uniformed personnel and school officials, conducted a preventive security assessment before the suspension took effect immediately.
Monungolh said the suspension was a precautionary measure to protect students, teachers and non-teaching staff while authorities investigate the threat and step up security on campuses.
He urged schools to shift to modular, online or other alternative learning arrangements, and asked parents and students to stay calm, avoid spreading unverified information and rely only on official updates from the local government, the Department of Education and law enforcement.
Local police, the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the Bureau of Fire Protection and force multipliers remained on alert, with visibility patrols continuing. An executive order formalizing the class suspension was expected to follow.
In Tagbilaran City, the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Peace, Order and Public Safety, chaired by Councilor Fausto “Bebot” Budlong, held a hearing after school administrators flagged gang recruitment as a serious and growing problem, warning that gangs now threaten teachers as well as students.
Administrators also reported rising defiance and disrespect toward school authorities, while teachers said the Child Protection Policy limits the disciplinary actions they can take against erring students.
Representatives from the Office of the City Mayor, the Tagbilaran City Police Station, the City Social Welfare and Development Office, the Parent-Teacher Association, the Tagbilaran Peoples Council, Councilors Charles Cabalit and Leonides “Edi” Borja, and administrators from several public and private schools attended the hearing.
The committee agreed that addressing gangsterism will require a coordinated effort among families, schools, police, local government and the public, and said it would forward recommendations to the city council and the mayor’s office for possible policy action.
Separately, a 21-year-old student at San Miguel Technical Vocational High School was criminally charged after admitting to posting an online threat claiming the school’s building would be destroyed.
Police Maj. Joseph Lopena, spokesperson for the Bohol Provincial Police Office, identified the suspect only by the alias “Rey,” a student at the same school.
In an extrajudicial confession made with the assistance of a lawyer, Rey admitted there was no actual bomb and said he made the post as a prank meant to draw his classmates’ attention after his younger sibling was allegedly bullied.
He was charged with violating Presidential Decree No. 1727, the Anti-Bomb Joke Law, and remains in the custody of the San Miguel police.
In Calape, municipal police opened an investigation into threats against several schools that circulated on Facebook.
Police said they are working to identify those responsible and hold them accountable, and have coordinated with the Department of Education, the local government and other agencies to ensure student safety.
Authorities asked the public to avoid sharing or forwarding unverified threats and instead take screenshots and report them to the nearest police station.