22/06/2026
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines extends its deepest sympathies to the families, classmates, teachers, and school community affected by the tragic incident at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City that claimed the lives of three students and injured several others.
ACT Chairperson Ruby Bernardo said the immediate priority must be providing comprehensive medical, psychological, and psychosocial support to the victims, their families, and all members of the school community affected by the tragedy.
"Our hearts are with the families who lost their children, the students who were injured, and the teachers and learners who witnessed this deeply traumatic incident. At a moment like this, the entire school community needs care, support, and healing," Bernardo said.
While authorities continue their investigation, ACT cautioned against reducing the tragedy to an isolated incident or relying solely on punitive and security-centered responses.
"We must confront the deeper conditions that leave many young people struggling without adequate support and guidance. Schools cannot simply be treated as sites requiring more policing; they must be strengthened as spaces of care, learning, and human development," Bernardo said.
The group pointed to findings from the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II), which documented how overcrowded classrooms contribute to a diminished sense of safety among learners. Students themselves reported that regular classes are often disorderly and marked by bullying, intimidation, and harassment. In contrast, smaller learning groups allowed learners to feel safer, more supported, and more comfortable participating in class.
"EDCOM's own findings show that overcrowding is not merely a learning issue but also a student welfare issue. When classrooms contain fifty or sixty learners, meaningful guidance, supervision, and intervention become far more difficult. Students themselves report feeling safer and more supported in smaller classes," Bernardo said.
ACT reiterated that the country's education crisis is also a student support crisis.
The group noted that public schools continue to face an estimated shortage of 150,000 teachers and more than 160,000 classrooms nationwide, while thousands of schools remain without adequate guidance counselors, nurses, librarians, and psychosocial support personnel.
"If we are serious about creating safe learning environments, we must invest in the people and facilities that make safety possible. This means hiring more teachers, constructing more classrooms to reduce overcrowding, and ensuring that every school has sufficient guidance counselors, nurses, and student support personnel," Bernardo said.
ACT further stressed that anti-bullying programs, mental health services, guidance and counseling, and values formation initiatives cannot succeed when schools are chronically understaffed and underfunded.
"Children deserve schools where they are seen, heard, guided, and protected. That requires more than emergency responses after tragedies occur. It requires sustained public investment in education and in the well-being of our learners," Bernardo added.
The group called on the government to substantially increase the education budget to address the shortages in classrooms, teachers, and support personnel that continue to undermine both the quality and safety of Philippine schools.
"Genuine school safety cannot be separated from the broader struggle for quality education. For the sake of our children, we must build schools that are not only places of learning, but communities of care and hope," Bernardo concluded.
PRESS RELEASE | June 22, 2026
ACT calls for urgent strengthening of school support systems after Tacloban school tragedy
