Bill mandates permanent security officers in PHL public schools

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne Baronda has filed a bill seeking to create permanent security officer positions in all public schools nationwide, citing a recent spate of violence in basic education institutions.

Baronda filed House Bill No. 9930, dubbed the “Public School Security Act of 2026,” on Tuesday, June 23.

The measure would require at least one school security officer in every public elementary and secondary school.

It would also set staffing by enrollment, with two school security officers for schools of 1,001 to 3,000 learners, and one more officer for every additional 2,000 learners or fraction thereof.

Existing contracted security services from private entities would be retained only when authorized by the Department of Education.

Contractual, job-order, casual, or outsourced security personnel could not substitute for the school security officers to be employed under the bill.

In filing the measure, Baronda cited the June 22 shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, which left three people dead and several others injured, and the June 16 stabbing at a private school in General Trias City, Cavite, which injured seven pupils.

“Many public schools currently rely on limited security arrangements, including contractual guards whose deployment varies depending on local resources and budget availability. Numerous schools, particularly in rural and underserved areas, have no dedicated security personnel at all,” Baronda said in the bill’s explanatory note.

“A secure school environment enables learners to focus on their studies, teachers to perform their duties effectively, and parents to have confidence that their children are protected while in school,” she added.

The proposal comes as the Department of Education and the Philippine National Police order tighter campus security measures following the back-to-back incidents.

Meanwhile, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla announced on Thursday, June 25, that authorities had foiled an alleged plot by a student to attack schoolmates at Tolosa National High School in Tolosa, Leyte.