MAPping the Future

Tacloban. Zamboanga. South Cotabato. Three school shootings in less than three months should be enough to tell us that we have a serious problem. We should not wait for a fourth before we treat this as an urgent national concern.

 

On June 22, gunfire erupted at San Jose National High School in Tacloban. In August, another shooting took place at Ateneo de Zamboanga University. Then on Sept. 18, the country woke up to another tragedy, this time at Banga National High School in South Cotabato, where two students were killed, several others were wounded, and the student gunman took his own life. School shootings remain rare in the Philippines, but three deadly incidents in such a short period should force us to ask whether we are seeing warning signs of a much deeper problem.

 

Our instinct after an incident like this is understandably to focus on physical security. Schools tighten their gates, guards inspect bags, students are checked for weapons, and police visibility is increased. There will inevitably be proposals for metal detectors, CCTV cameras and more stringent security procedures. Some of these measures may be necessary, but if our principal solution is to find the gun before it enters the classroom, then we are already intervening too late. We need to reach the young person before he ever decides to pick up the gun.

 

This is why I believe the recent shootings should force us to confront the state of mental health and well-being among our young people. This is not to suggest that mental illness causes violence. Most people struggling with mental health conditions will never harm another person, and we should be careful not to reinforce that stigma. Violence has many possible causes, including family circumstances, bullying, social isolation, access to firearms, exposure to violent material and other factors. What we cannot afford to ignore, however, are warning signs that someone may be in serious distress or contemplating harm to himself or others.

 

Reports on the South Cotabato shooting indicate that the student had told friends about what he intended to do. Authorities are also investigating his online activities and possible exposure to violent content and online communities. The firearm used in the attack reportedly belonged to his father. These matters are still under investigation, and we should resist jumping to conclusions about what ultimately caused the attack, but they raise questions every parent in this country should be asking: How well do we really know what our children are going through?

 

Parents need to check on their children — and not just their bags. Talk to them, know their friends, understand what they are doing online and pay attention to when their behavior changes dramatically. Listen when they talk about hopelessness, anger, self-harm or violence. And if there is a firearm at home, keeping it inaccessible to children is a fundamental responsibility.

 

Teachers occupy an equally important position because they see our children for hours every day and may notice changes that families do not. A student who suddenly withdraws, becomes severely distressed, repeatedly talks about death or violence, is being badly bullied or makes threats should not simply be dismissed as a difficult child. Teachers are not mental health professionals, but they should know what to do, whom to inform and where to refer that student.

 

The same principle applies beyond schools. Bosses need to check on their teams. Managers are not psychologists and should never pretend to diagnose their employees, but responsible organizations should create environments where asking for help is acceptable and where employees in distress can be referred to professionals. Mental health is not only an education or health issue; it is also a workplace, productivity and ultimately national issue.

 

The troubling thing is that the Philippines is not starting from zero. We already have laws intended to build much of this system. Republic Act (RA) No. 11036, or the Mental Health Act, has been law since 2018. RA 12080, the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act, became law in 2024. The latter provides for school-based mental health programs, Care Centers in schools, Mental Health and Well-Being Offices in Schools Division Offices, and the hiring and deployment of qualified personnel. Its implementing rules are already in place.

 

The question, therefore, is no longer whether we need another law. The more urgent question is whether we are implementing the laws that we already have.

 

After these three shootings, the House of Representatives and the Senate should make this an urgent oversight agenda. They should require the responsible agencies to report publicly on implementation. How much has been appropriated and how much has actually been spent? How many schools have functioning Care Centers? How many counselors and counselor associates have been hired? What is our counselor-to-student ratio? How many cities and municipalities have functioning referral networks and accessible mental health services? We need numbers and measurable outcomes, not assurances.

 

DepEd should be able to tell parents how far we have progressed in implementing RA 12080 across the country. DOH should show where professional mental health services are available and whether families outside major urban centers can actually access them. DILG should work with governors, mayors and barangays to ensure that local mental health systems and referral mechanisms work on the ground, while DSWD should be part of the intervention network for vulnerable children and families. The Philippine Council for Mental Health should be able to show us how all these moving parts are being coordinated.

 

DICT has an increasingly important role because a significant part of our children’s lives now takes place online. Government needs better mechanisms for responding to credible online threats, cyberbullying and potentially harmful online communities. It should work with schools, parents, law enforcement and technology platforms to improve digital safety and literacy. At the same time, protecting children cannot become an excuse for indiscriminate surveillance. Any system must protect privacy and due process while providing a clear way to escalate credible threats of serious harm.

 

DOLE and the Civil Service Commission should similarly examine whether workplace mental health requirements are actually being implemented. DTI can help mobilize businesses and industry groups to participate in a national response. The private sector employs millions of Filipinos and has resources, technologies and networks that can support mental health programs in workplaces and communities. This cannot remain a collection of separate government programs operating independently of one another. We need one national system.

 

I propose that government undertake a 90-day national audit of the implementation of RA 11036 and RA 12080. The results should be public and should identify gaps by region, province and school division. From that audit, government should create a national mental health implementation dashboard showing where counselors, care centers, crisis services and referral facilities are available. If we can build dashboards for economic indicators, weather disturbances and infrastructure projects, surely we can track something as important as the mental well-being of our people.

 

We also need a clear national early-intervention protocol for schools. When a student makes a credible threat to harm himself or others, teachers and administrators should not have to improvise. There should be a defined process for assessment, parental notification when appropriate, professional intervention, referral and follow-through, with safeguards for confidentiality and the rights of the student. Most importantly, identifying a person at risk is useless if there is nowhere to send that person. Schools, LGUs, hospitals, social workers and mental health professionals need to be connected through a functioning referral network.

 

Congress should use the national budget process to determine whether we are putting enough resources behind the promises contained in our laws. It should also require an annual public accounting of our progress: what we promised, what we funded, what we implemented, what worked and what did not. Mental health cannot be something government remembers only after a tragedy and then forgets when the headlines disappear.

 

As President of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), I believe the business community should also be part of this effort. Companies can strengthen workplace mental health programs, support community initiatives, provide technology and resources, and help make seeking professional help normal rather than shameful. But this requires a coordinated national response in which government, business, schools, families and communities understand their respective responsibilities.

 

Parents must check on their children. Teachers must check on their students. Bosses must check on their teams. Friends must check on each other. And government must check itself.

 

We already have the Mental Health Act. We already have the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act. We have government agencies with defined responsibilities, the House and the Senate exercising oversight and controlling the national purse, and LGUs responsible for delivering services in our communities. The laws are there and the institutions are there. The question we should now be asking is simple: Where are we in implementing them?

 

Tacloban, Zamboanga and South Cotabato should be enough. We should not wait for another school to become a headline before we act.

 

(The author is President of the MAP. He is also President and COO of DITO CME Holdings Corporation. Feedback at <map@map.org.ph> and <donaldpatricklim@gmail.com>).