SENATE President Sherwin Gatchalian has called for clearer school safety mechanisms and stronger cooperation among parents, barangays, and local government units (LGUs) to better protect students from campus violence.

During his interpellation on Senate Bill No. 2426, or the Comprehensive School Safety Act, Gatchalian said protecting students should not be the responsibility of schools alone but must involve the entire community.

“We cannot place the responsibility on the school alone; parents, barangays, and local government units must also be involved to protect our youth in our schools,” Gatchalian said.

Drawing from his experience as former chair of the Senate committee on basic education, Gatchalian sought clarification on how localized school safety plans would be implemented at the ground level.

He emphasized the need to strengthen existing school governing councils, avoid overlapping responsibilities among local stakeholders, and establish clear prevention and emergency response protocols.

Bill sponsor Senator Bam Aquino said school heads would lead the development of localized safety frameworks in consultation with existing local bodies.

Aquino also expressed openness to explicitly designating school governing councils to help streamline implementation of the proposed law.

The Comprehensive School Safety Act seeks to institutionalize coordinated measures to prevent violence and strengthen safety and security in schools nationwide.