23/06/2026
The shooting in Tacloban brings a painful truth to light: what good are perfect lesson plans and strict curriculums if our schools are not safe?
We teachers are used to turning lemons into lemonade. We work under the sun and through the rain, even when roofs leak and water drips onto our books and papers. We manage classrooms that are bursting at the seams, with numbers so large it feels like trying to keep an eye on every star in the sky. We give our best shot every single day, even when our pay barely lets us make ends meet and we often dig into our own pockets just to provide what the school lacks. We do not complain for the sake of it — we do it because we love our calling and we love our learners.
But this tragedy opens our eyes: we cannot keep doing the impossible with one hand tied behind our back. You can have the finest curriculum written in black and white, but it is all just castles in the air if the school itself is not secure. You can have the most detailed lesson plans, but they mean nothing if our children are left feeling afraid and unprotected. We teach our students to value life, to walk the straight and narrow, and to settle conflicts peacefully — but we cannot build a safe environment on our own when the support we need is few and far between.
We are not asking for the moon and the stars. We only ask for what is right and reasonable: classrooms that are sturdy and secure, enough space so no child is left out of sight, facilities that stand firm against storms and dangers, and fair compensation that lets us focus on teaching instead of worrying about putting food on our own tables. When teachers are well-supported, when schools are built as true sanctuaries, only then can we truly say we are doing our job from A to Z.
My heart goes out in deepest sympathy to every family that lost a loved one, and to everyone now carrying the weight of grief. May justice run its course and may peace return to your streets. But let this also be a wake-up call loud and clear: Safety is not a luxury — it is the very foundation of education. Without it, everything else is just a house of cards.
We will not keep silent. We will continue to stand guard, to care, and to fight for what our learners deserve — because protecting life is the greatest lesson we can ever teach.
