(Eagle News) — Senator Joel Villanueva recently urged the Department of Education to tighten security in schools following the death of a teacher who was shot in front of her class on Wednesday, Nov. 21.
“We urge the DepEd and the authorities to (do this) to ensure the safety of our students and teachers so that (a) similar incident that happened to Melody will not be repeated,” Villanueva said.
Villanueva was referring to Melody Esber, a teacher at the Tambubong Elementary School in Barangay Tambubong in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Esber was shot by her former boyfriend Technical Sgt. Ruperto Datwin, a member of the Philippine Army deployed in Nueva Ecija.
Initial investigation showed that upon arrival at the school, Datwin went to the classroom to talk to Esber, who obliged.
Suddenly, he drew a firearm and shot the teacher, with whom he had been separated for a month.
A stray bullet also hit one of Esber’s students in the shoulder.
Datwin then killed himself.
According to authorities, recovered from Datwin was a folder containing documents chronicling his relationship with Esber.
“Melody’s death is truly heartbreaking. She was young and could have contributed more in the field of education,” Villanueva said.
“We express our deepest condolences to the family of Melody who was killed in a shooting incident inside a public school,” the senator added.
