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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Students are not 'terrorists' to be monitored — Palace

Students are not 'terrorists' to be monitored — Palace

Palace disputes VP Sara Duterte's claim that the Tacloban school shooting highlights a failure in intelligence gathering

Published Jun 23, 2026 07:02 pm
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary shows a copy of a news report on the bombing incident that took place in 2016 allegedly targeting the security team of former president Rodrigo Duterte. (RTVM)
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary shows a copy of a news report on the bombing incident that took place in 2016 allegedly targeting the security team of former president Rodrigo Duterte. (RTVM)
Intelligence gathering should not be conducted on students, Malacañang said, contradicting Vice President Sara Duterte's view that the Tacloban City school gun attack exposed the government's failure to recognize the importance of intelligence gathering.
"Ibig sabihin, estudyante dapat minu-monitor para sa intelligence gathering (Does that mean students should be monitored for intelligence-gathering purposes)?" Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Clair Castro said in a briefing on Tuesday, June 23.
"Hindi sila mga terorista, sila ay mga estudyanteng mukhang diumanong gumon lang sa online gaming na marahas (They are not terrorists, they are students who reportedly became addicted to violent online games)," Castro stressed.
The Palace spokesperson was questioning the remarks made by Duterte about the tragic shooting incident at a national high school in Tacloban City on Monday.
The Vice President was quoted as saying: "This tragedy also exposes the failure of the government to recognize the importance of intelligence gathering and identifying threats before lives are lost. We cannot continue reacting only after another child is hurt or killed."
Castro countered that if intelligence gathering were considered crucial in schools, similar incidents during the previous administration should have been prevented.
"At kung iyan ang sinasabi niya na dapat na minu-monitor through an intelligence gathering, bakit kaya noong 2019 sa Masili National High School, Calamba, Laguna ay nagkaroon din ng barilan sa loob ng classroom (And if she is saying that they should have been monitored through intelligence gathering, then why was the 2019 shooting inside a classroom at Masili National High School in Calamba, Laguna not detected)?" Castro questioned.
"Isang 15-year-old, Grade 7 student ang involved. This is 2019, it occurred 2019. Bakit hindi ito kaya nakita sa intelligence report ng kaniyang ama (A 15-year-old Grade 7 student was involved. This occurred in 2019. Why did it not appear in the intelligence reports of her father)?" she further asked.
Castro also cited the Davao attack in September 2016 and the bomb blast targeting the Duterte security team in November that same year.
The Palace official also questioned why did the Vice President not advise his father, then president Rodrigo Duterte, on how to address such incidents.
"Bakit hindi niya kaya tinuruan ang kanyang ama para maresolba or ma-counter ito agad (Why, then, did she not advise her father on how to address or counter these incidents at the time)?"Castro said.
"Hindi po ba dapat kung napakagaling niyang magbigay ng suggestion, dapat ay tinuruan niya ang kanyang ama para ito ay na-prevent (If she is so good at offering suggestions, then perhaps she should have advised her father on how such incidents could have been prevented)," she added.
The Palace spokesperson pointed out that there are situations that cannot be completely avoided, especially in a case involving students and minors.
"May mga pagkakataon po na hindi maiiwasan ang mga ganitong sitwasyon, especially sa pangyayaring ito, mga estudyante, mga menor de edad, hindi terorista (There are situations that simply cannot be completely avoided, especially in a case like this involving students and minors, not terrorists)," she stressed.

Related Tags

Tacloban school shooting Vice President Sara Duterte shooting incident Claire Castro intelligence gathering
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