20/08/2026
𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗬 | 𝗔𝗦𝗦𝗢𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗗𝗥𝗘𝗡 𝗜𝗡 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗦𝗜𝗔
The Association for the Rights of Children in Southeast Asia (ARCSEA) stands with the community of Ateneo de Zamboanga University following the tragic shooting that took place in the school on August 18.
We mourn the loss of student lives and extend our deepest condolences to their families while we wish for a swift recovery and healing to those injured and dealing with the trauma and fear brought by this act of violence.
Every place where there is a child should be a safe space, most especially schools where children learn, build relationships, express themselves, and exercise their rights without fear of violence.
While we express our sorrow over this tragedy, we at the same time call for a holistic and coordinated response to prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future. It takes a village to raise a child and ensuring that they grow and develop in a safe environment is everyone’s responsibility.
Families play a vital role in creating a nurturing environment for children where they can seek help, especially when they are in crisis. Adequate support and education should be given to parents and caregivers in order to recognize warning signs of distress and violence, while maintaining open and non-judgemental communication with their children. Adults responsible for children’s safety also have a critical responsibility to ensure that children do not have access to things that can be dangerous for them and for others, especially fi****ms.
Schools meanwhile have a responsibility to every child that enters. Being a violence-free environment requires mechanisms that adequately address bullying which includes support for the bullied as well as the bully, child-sensitive and trauma-informed reporting and referral systems, trained teachers, and guidance personnel among others. School safety should not be reduced to surveillance, and, ironically, greater gun visibility from guards and police.
Communities too have an important role to create protective environments for children. Community and grassroots organizations, youth groups and clubs can provide spaces for children to belong and create a natural support system. The experience of grassroots child rights organizations have shown that the first line of defense against violence against children are children themselves who are empowered and aware of their rights as children.
Finally, the Government not only has the responsibility to create and enforce laws for children, it also has the responsibility to ensure that families, communities, and schools are given adequate support so that they can do their part. This includes providing sufficient budget allocations for programs that support violence prevention, parenting education, and early childhood care and development programs, and equipping teachers and communities with the knowledge and resources necessary to keep children safe.
It also has the greatest responsibility in ensuring that children do not have access to guns through legislation and enforcement of stronger fi***rm controls.
ARCSEA stands in solidarity with every Filipino child who deserve to grow up safe and free from harm.
