Jan Angelo Batongbakal

Francine Diaz performs at Tacloban school two weeks after deadly shooting

Article (news)

Push Team

<div>Two weeks after a shooting left three students dead and 20 others wounded at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, Kapamilya actress and singer Francine Diaz took to the school’s stage to help its community begin to heal.</div>Francine performed for students on July 6 as part of a psychosocial support initiative organized by the City Government of Tacloban under Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez.Among the songs she performed was Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.”Videos from the event showed students cheering and smiling, a sight that moved many online who had been following the aftermath of the June 22 tragedy.The Department of Education Tacloban City Schools Division backed the event as part of its continuing efforts to support the emotional recovery of students and school personnel in the wake of the incident.“While face-to-face classes will resume, the healing process will continue beyond the reopening of the school. The Department of Education remains committed to providing sustained psychosocial support through appropriate school-based interventions and wellness activities that promote the emotional well-being of learners and school personnel,” DepEd Tacloban City Schools Division Superintendent Sherlita A. Palma said in a statement.She added that the city government had stepped in to make the special program possible.“As part of these continuing efforts, the City Government of Tacloban, under the leadership of Hon. Alfred S. Romualdez, has sponsored a special program featuring guest performers who will visit San Jose National High School on July 6,” she said.Palma expressed hope that events like this would give students a moment to breathe amid their grief.“Through music, art, and other uplifting activities, this initiative aims to provide moments of comfort, hope, and encouragement, helping learners and school personnel gradually recover and heal from the emotional impact of the tragedy,” she said.The response online was warm. Netizens praised the effort, with many saying it was exactly what the students needed.“This is a good idea, to ease the trauma they experienced,” one netizen wrote.“Mabuti ’yan at least makakalimutan nila kahit papaano ang nangyari sa kanilang school,” another said.A third summed it up simply: “Maliit na bagay pero malaking tulong sa kanila para maibsan ’yung trauma na dulot.”The two teenage suspects in the June 22 shooting are currently being held separately at a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) rehabilitation facility. As children in conflict with the law, they are undergoing assessment, rehabilitation, and the appropriate legal proceedings.<div> </div><div>—By Paolo Lim</div>

Kapamilya actress Francine Diaz performed at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on July 6 as part of a psychosocial support program for students affected by the June 22 shooting that killed three and wounded 20 others.

Kapamilya actress Francine Diaz performed at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City on July 6 as part of a psychosocial support program for students affected by the June 22 shooting that killed three and wounded 20 others.