Police form special investigation task group on Banga shooting

COTABATO CITY  – The Police Regional Office – Region 12 (PRO-12) created a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to fast-track the investigation into the deadly shooting at Banga National High School (BNHS) in South Cotabato, a police official said Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Alan Manibog, PRO-12 regional director, said the SITG-Banga was formed not only to speed up the investigation but also to recommend measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Headed by Manibog, the SITG is composed of operatives from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, Regional Forensic Unit, Anti-Cybercrime Unit, and the Banga Municipal Police Station.

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Manibog said in a local radio interview that the SITG will also recommend filing charges against persons directly or indirectly involved in the incident.

While the focus of the SITG work is the BNHS shooting, which claimed the lives of three students, including the shooter, Manibog said the SITG will also pursue leads in other related threats that followed the Banga school shooting.

Manibog hinted that the gunman’s father, an employee of the Department of Education, could be held liable for allegedly failing to keep his firearm safely stored.

READ: DepEd exec whose gun was used in S. Cotabato campus shooting relieved

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He noted that following the Banga shooting, police observed a surge in online threats involving students in the region.

He said the police have recorded 13 online threats from July 1 up to September 18, the day the Banga shooting occurred.

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However, in just four days after the Banga incident, police recorded at least 40 online threats in the Soccsksargen region.

The first threat involving a student was recorded in Buayan National High School in Gen. Santos City.  

Manibog said that after the Banga incident, police have recorded online threats in Lambayong and Esperanza in Sultan Kudarat, and Tupi, Koronadal City, and Surallah in South Cotabato, all involving students who posted alleged threats of gun attacks in schools.

“We are all addressing these with extra care since many of the suspects were 18 years old and below,” Manibog said, adding that individuals who are already of legal age have been charged under the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

For those aged 15 to 17, police are coordinating closely with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Education.

Manibog said the SITG is also looking into the responsibility of parents and guardians, particularly in monitoring their children’s activities online.

READ: Angara proposes inter-agency task force after Cotabato school shooting

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“Parents and guardians have a huge responsibility to check their children’s mobile phones because we may not know that there are already people manipulating our children,” Manibog said./coa