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Student caught with grenade, marijuana in Negros Occidental school now under police custody — DepEd
By GISELLE OMBAY,GMA Integrated News The Grade 10 student who was caught carrying a grenade and marijuana inside a school in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, was placed under police custody, a Department of Education (DepEd) regional office said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Lacson was caught in possession of a hand grenade, along with marijuana and drug paraphernalia, at Rafael B. Lacson Memorial High School.
He was reported to the barangay by a pedicab driver, whom he allegedly threatened to hit on the head with an explosive when the driver refused to take him to school.
“When members of the Philippine National Police arrived, they immediately searched for the learner until they found him in his classroom. They inspected his bag, where they recovered dried marijuana leaves and a tooter. They also did a body search on him and found the hand grenade hidden in his underwear,” DepEd said.
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DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa said on Tuesday that the school immediately shifted to distance learning modalities. In-person classes will resume on Tuesday, April 11.
A total of 4,470 learners, 143 teaching personnel, and 17 non-teaching staff were affected by the shift to distance learning, according to DepEd.
“The Department of Education-Schools Division of Negros Occidental strongly condemns the incident,” the agency said.
“The school administration is closely coordinating with the police authorities and other agencies and will provide all help needed until this case is finally resolved. With the help of other partners, the administration will also be conducting a thorough review of its safety and security protocols to ensure that all learners and personnel are well-protected while in school,” it added.
The DepEd Schools Division of Negros Occidental is committed to providing all the necessary assistance to bring back normalcy in the school, including the conduct of psychosocial support interventions for all those who have been traumatized by the incident.
It also reminded all learners to be “more mindful and responsible for their decisions and actions as these have corresponding consequences eventually.” —VBL, GMA Integrated News