The Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA) and the Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PSCAP) express gratitude to the Senate Committee on Basic Education for inviting us to serve as resource organizations in the deliberations on the proposed School Safety Act.
We welcome the opportunity to provide psychiatric, psychosocial, and developmental insights, clinical recommendations, and holistic perspectives on Senate Bills 441, 1582, 627, 1052, 1077, 1376, 2133, and related legislative inquiries into school violence. These measures are not merely administrative safeguards but crucial interventions in the developmental trajectory of Filipino children.
Recent incidents of school violence, including the Tacloban 2026 shooting and stabbing cases in Metro Manila, underscore the urgent need for systemic safeguards. These events highlight how unchecked aggression, digital exposure, and gaps in psychosocial support converge to place Filipino students at risk (UNESCO, 2019; WHO, 2023).
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