AGADIAN CITY: Grief continues to grip Ateneo de Zamboanga University (AdZU) a week after the Aug 18 fatal shooting inside its Tumaga campus that claimed the lives of two high school students, including the shooter.
“A week has passed, but grief does not follow a timetable. Some may be ready to return to familiar routines; others will need more time, more support. So let us continue to be patient with one another, especially gentle with those who are carrying the deepest grief,” AdZU president Fr. Guillrey Anthony Andal said in a statement on Monday (Aug 24).
The university continued its “accompaniment activities” following the deadly shooting, allowing junior high school students to retrieve their belongings from the Tumaga campus in Zamboanga City on Monday.
The AdZU community also gathered for a candle-lighting and prayer service at its Salvador campus, led by student leaders from El Consejo Atenista. Faculty and staff held a “Kumustahan Session,” with similar activities planned for college students in the coming days.
“As we continue to understand what happened, we must also be clear: violence has no place in our society,” Andal said, underscoring that preventing violence is a shared responsibility of families, schools, government, religious institutions, media and the wider community.
The Jesuit-run university reiterated its appeal to the public and media organisations to exercise prudence in sharing images, recordings and information related to the incident.
“Inaccurate information and unnecessary circulation of materials, including those AI-generated involving minors, can cause further harm to families already carrying great pain,” Andal warned.
Andal declined to comment on the shooting incident pending the final police investigation, which the university was awaiting on Monday.
On Aug 20, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said after visiting the AdZU Tumaga campus that the final police report on the shooting was expected by Aug 24.
“We had hoped to receive it [on Monday], but until it is formally provided to us, we will refrain from commenting on findings that have not yet been officially communicated,” Andal said.
He stressed that the university continues to cooperate fully with authorities and will share verified information once it becomes available.
Andal said the university had updated Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Olaso on its cooperation with police and its ongoing efforts to strengthen campus security and provide psychological support to affected students and families.
The mayor expressed support for the initiatives.
AdZU has begun implementing enhanced security protocols at the Tumaga campus, including purchasing more walk-through metal detectors and X-ray machines. The university will make improvements to perimeter security, CCTV coverage, and live monitoring. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
