Luistro seeks deeper probe on moneylending in schools
LINGAYEN—Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro seeks a deeper probe on the murderous rail left by a policeman that left three teachers and a loan collector dead, and the wounding of three other teachers Monday inside the Pangasinan National High School (PNHS) here.
Luistro, who went to the PNHS Thursday to pay his respects to the families of the victims and visited the wounded at the hospital, said his office will cooperate with the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Department of Justice in their investigation.
HE encouraged the faculty members not to dwell on the unfortunate incident but rather build a ’ new history’ for the school.
“Bumangon kayong muli, (Rise up again),” said Luistro to the teachers and members of the Parents-Teachers Association who were mostly clad in black shirts.
The Secretary encouraged the students of the school to draw strength from their teachers and likewise told the teachers to draw strength from God.
Alipio, shot dead Florenda Flores, teacher at Labrador National High School in Labrador town, who was a loan agent of the suspect; Acidello Sison, Linda Sison, both teachers at the PNHS and Jonalito Urayan, of Barangay Gabon, Calasiao town who was a collector of the suspect.
Three other teachers of the PNHS, Ferdinand Entimano, Jovito Jimenez and Juliet Molano were wounded and still confined in different hospitals.
SAFETY CONCERNS
He said, meanwhile, DepEd’s immediate concern about the resumption of classes is the safety of the teachers and the students and the assurance to them that they will be safe.
“If we allow ourselves to be defeated and let fear to prevail, we would be dealing with bigger problems,” he said.
He added there must be a deeper probe as reports indicate teachers in some schools are also indebted to the suspect and, in fact, had also school superintendents to look into it.
It appeared from earlier police investigation that the lending operations of the heavily armed policeman who gunned down the teachers already reached millions and he had been doing it for many years now even before he was assigned to Anda town.
Teachers of PNHS who went back to school after a two-day suspension of classes wore black t-shirts to show their solidarity in grieving for their fellow teachers.
No student was around Thursday at the PNHS.
STRESS DEBRIEFING
Dr. Jeremy Rosario, assistant provincial health officer, said a group of counselors and psychologists from various groups are helping in a series of sessions to provide stress debriefing/counseling to teachers and students. There are close to 5,000 students here and more than 200 teachers
He said those who witnessed the shooting would be the ones to undergo counseling, including spiritual, but eventually everyone would be debriefed.
“It’s going to be a tedious process as these would be a series of follow-ups,” Rosario said.
CONDEMNATION
In a statement posted on Sept. 2, the DepEd offered its sincere condolences to families who lost their loved ones Monday’s shooting incident at the PNHS. “We are one with them in this time of bereavement and are deeply saddened as we count, among those killed, our very own teachers and members of the DepEd family,” it said.
It added, “We at DepEd condemn all forms of violence especially as they occur in schools. We maintain that schools are zones of peace where the safety and well-being of students, teachers, and personnel are of utmost importance”.
The statement also mentioned that the DepEd is committed to foster a sense of normalcy by providing the necessary psychological interventions to the community of PNHS. We enjoin local authorities to persevere in ensuring that justice prevails, it also said. (Tita Roces/ PNA/PIO)
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