FOLLOWING the fatal school shooting incident in Zamboanga City, the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), Task Force Davao, and the local academic sector convened an emergency coordination meeting to reinforce deterrence measures and safeguard learning institutions across the city.
Presided over by Public Safety and Security Office (PSSO) Officer-in-Charge PLTCOL Angel B. Sumagaysay at the PSSO Conference Room in Sandawa, the high-level session brought together key members of the local Safety and Security Cluster and educational leaders to formulate unified countermeasures against campus violence.
Representing Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, city information officer Harvey James C. Lanticse underscored that the local chief executive has ordered security forces to shift operational priority toward absolute prevention.
“Security efforts must focus on deterrence rather than response, ensuring that such incidents are prevented from happening in the first place,” Lanticse conveyed on behalf of the mayor. “We need to normalize the city’s culture of security and strengthen countermeasures to eradicate trends of shootings, stabbings, bullying, and similar threats in our schools.”
DCPO director PCOL Peter B. Madria, alongside City Operations and Management Unit (COMU) chief PLTCOL Balbuena and City Community Affairs and Development Unit (CCADU) chief PMAJ Goles, reaffirmed the police force’s full commitment to working closely with campus administrators and military partners.
Also present during the strategic briefing were Task Force Davao commander COL Rodrigo A. Mariñas and DepEd Davao City Schools Division superintendent Reynante A. Solatorio, who both committed to institutionalizing stricter access controls, police visibility, and emergency protocols along school perimeters.
Local authorities expressed their collective condolences to the families affected by the Zamboanga tragedy while reassuring Davaoeños that proactive security deployments around public and private educational facilities remain fully operational.
