That shouldn’t have happened here. This was a common reaction among many people I spoke to after the recent school shooting in Zamboanga. Before the recent events took place, I used to read news about American school shootings with equal measures of horror that children could experience such violence in a place meant to protect them, and relief that such things did not happen in the country.
When the Tacloban shooting happened a few months ago, it was still possible to dismiss it as an anomaly. But as soon as the latest incident came to light, and from an established private school many would have instinctively assumed was safe, the sense of comfort provided by the psychological boundary between what happens elsewhere and what can happen to us began to collapse.
In Psychology, there is a concept called shattered assumptions theory. Dr. Ronnie Janoff-Bulman proposed that people move through ordinary life with several fundamental assumptions that allow the world to feel more psychologically manageable: that the world is a generally kind and safe place, that events are meaningful and somewhat predictable, and that we ourselves are people of worth who are reasonably safe within the world and can exercise some control over what happens to us. A traumatic event can “shatter” those beliefs by showing us that the world does not always operate according to the rules we once believed it did.
Children need some of those assumptions particularly strongly. They rely heavily on the belief that adults are able to protect them and that the places entrusted with their care will keep them safe. Schools carry heavier symbolic weight because they represent future possibilities as well as society’s commitment to create spaces where the next generation can develop and thrive. It is important for children and adults alike to believe that schools are fundamentally safe.
And so, while the tragedy belongs most intensely to the victims, their families, and the communities that were directly affected, it also had a far-reaching impact on our collective view of what schools now represent and what young people are capable of. Now that we know that it is possible for a student to bring a gun to the classroom, it is impossible for us to unknow it. And confronting this less benevolent version of society may lead to a terrifying awareness of our own vulnerability.
Experts warn, however, that while some additional precautions are necessary, we must also make sure we do not inadvertently cause more harm to the children we’re trying to protect. The Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA) and the Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PSCAP) recently called on the Department of Education to defer live shooter attack drills. They stressed that current evidence does not show that such simulations reduce casualties or prevent school attacks, while some studies suggest potential psychological harm. One large-scale study involving 114 schools found increases in language associated with stress and anxiety by 42 percent and with depression by 39 percent, with effects persisting for at least 90 days after the drills.
Instead, PPA and PSCAP recommend stronger perimeter security measures, trauma-informed responses, and tabletop exercises in which teachers, staff, and parents can sit together and work through scenarios such as: if an intruder enters, who locks the doors, who contacts parents, and where students go. They said that this approach can improve coordination and preparedness without causing unnecessary fear and anxiety.
As educators, we must also learn to distinguish between hypervigilance and structured vigilance. Research on targeted school violence has found that attackers commonly displayed concerning behavior beforehand, and many communicated their intentions to someone. Teachers and staff must be trained to identify escalating grievances, changes in functioning, and more importantly, must have a clear system for how the school will respond and intervene. This also means investing in school counselors and psychologists who can ensure early intervention and provide student support services that are embedded proactively into the school’s everyday life.
Visible security measures in schools may temporarily ease our disquiet, but they should not distract us from also focusing on preventing firearm access in the first place. Republic Act No. 10591 requires licensed firearm owners to have a vault for safekeeping. International public health evidence also consistently shows that locked, unloaded firearm storage, particularly with ammunition secured separately, reduces unauthorized access by children. What we need now is stricter compliance, stronger enforcement, and clear accountability when adults fail to secure firearms properly.
Janoff-Bulman emphasized that traumatic events need not leave people permanently shattered and that they can reconstruct an assumptive world that may no longer be as “innocent,” but can still contain trust, meaning, and safety. We may have lost the luxury of believing that school shootings do not happen here. What we cannot lose is our conviction and our commitment to evidence-based action to ensure that they never become a normal part of Filipino childhood.
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eleanor@shetalksasia.com