The Department of Education (DepEd) must address the root causes of school violence by allocating budget for guidance counselors, mental health programs, and education services.

Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Co made this call Saturday, Aug. 16 to the DepEd and the Marcos administration in general, even as she slammed the current policy of "treating the symptoms and not the actual ailments of the education system".

"We cannot police our way out of a mental health crisis," noted the Makabayan lawmaker.

In recent weeks, the country has seen a disturbing rise in violence in schools: the killing of a teacher in Lanao del Sur, the shooting of students in Nueva Ecija, the beating of a Grade 3 pupil in Iligan, and the mauling of a 15-year-old student in Muntinlupa City.

"While DepEd has issued stricter security guidelines at nag-deploy ng barangay tanod sa mga campus (and deployed barangay watchmen to campuses), these steps overlook the deeper crisis: may 4,460 unfilled guidance counselor positions nationwide, with some schools na may isang counselor lang for 25,000 students," Co said.

"Pananakot ng dahas ba ang sagot sa dahas (Is the threat of violence the way to address violence)? The government's response so far has been to guard the gates instead of opening the doors to real care," added the neophyte congresswoman.

"Kung kaya nating mag-deploy ng tanod sa mga paaralan, kaya rin nating mag-deploy ng guidance counselors at bayaran sila nang tama (If we can deploy security guards to schools, then we can also deploy guidance counselors and pay them properly)," Co further said.

"This is not just about preventing the next incident—it's about building schools that heal, protect, and empower our youth. Hindi lang guards at gates ang kailangan, kundi budget para sa mental health at education (It’s not just guards and gates that are needed, but also a budget for mental health and education)," she concluded.