When a government-issued firearm finds its way from a customs official's holster to the scene of a school shooting, it forces an institution to confront not just a crime but a failure of stewardship. Two students at Ateneo de Zamboanga University lost their lives on Tuesday, and by Wednesday the Bureau of Customs was reckoning with the uncomfortable truth that one of its own weapons had been part of the violence. The question now is not only who pulled the trigger, but how the systems meant to prevent such moments had quietly come undone.
BOC orders firearms inventory after Ateneo shooting linked to bureau-issued gun
Two students killed in the shooting incident at Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
A government-issued weapon used to kill two students at school
Mark
Why does a customs bureau even issue firearms to its personnel?
Mimi
The Enforcement and Security Services division works at ports and borders—they're responsible for stopping smuggling, contraband, and other threats. They carry weapons as part of that work.
Mark
And this district commander—Jalani—he had the gun at home?
Mimi
That's what the evidence suggests. The weapon was issued to him, but somewhere between the bureau and the shooting, it was accessible to his son. That's the failure the commissioner is now investigating.
Mark
The 24-hour compliance deadline seems urgent. Was there a known problem before this?
Mimi
Not publicly. But a school shooting with a government-issued weapon tends to expose gaps very quickly. Nepomuceno's order is essentially saying: we need to know right now if this is an isolated breach or a systemic one.
Mark
Two students died. Does that change how the investigation will proceed?
Mimi
It changes everything. This isn't a lost weapon or a paperwork error anymore. It's a homicide investigation that implicates the bureau's own protocols. The pressure to find answers—and to prevent it from happening again—is immense.
Il Polso
- Two students are dead after a shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University, and a government-issued Glock pistol has been traced directly back to a Bureau of Customs district commander.
- The revelation that a state weapon was used in a school killing has sent shockwaves through the bureau, exposing potential breakdowns in how firearms are tracked, stored, and monitored.
- Commissioner Nepomuceno has imposed a 24-hour deadline for all bureau units to report on their gun safety, custody, and storage compliance — an urgent, bureau-wide reckoning.
- Lt. Lars Jalani, the district commander to whom the weapon was issued and father of the shooting suspect, has been relieved of his post as investigators close in on the chain of custody.
- Authorities are now piecing together exactly where oversight failed — from the moment the Glock was issued to the moment it was used to kill — with full document and evidence gathering underway.
When a government-issued firearm finds its way from a customs official's holster to the scene of a school shooting, it forces an institution to confront not just a crime but a failure of stewardship. Two students at Ateneo de Zamboanga University lost their lives on Tuesday, and by Wednesday the Bureau of Customs was reckoning with the uncomfortable truth that one of its own weapons had been part of the violence. The question now is not only who pulled the trigger, but how the systems meant to prevent such moments had quietly come undone.
A shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University on Tuesday left two students dead and immediately set off a crisis within the Bureau of Customs. By the following morning, Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno had ordered a complete inventory of every firearm the bureau had distributed across its operations, along with a mandatory review of compliance with policies on gun safety, storage, and transport. Every relevant office was given twenty-four hours to report back.
At the center of the inquiry was a Glock 22 pistol, chambered in .40 caliber, that had been officially issued to Lt. Lars Jalani — a district commander with the bureau's Enforcement and Security Services division at the Zamboanga port. Jalani is the father of the shooting suspect. Deputy Commissioner Nolasco Bathan confirmed the link publicly, adding that a second firearm used in the incident was the suspect's own licensed weapon, verified through the Philippine National Police.
The fact that a bureau-issued gun had been used in a school shooting raised immediate and serious questions about oversight. Nepomuceno directed deputy commissioners and field offices to launch a full investigation, collecting documents, records, and statements. Jalani was relieved of his post. What the inquiry must now untangle is where, between the weapon's issuance and its use in the killing, the chain of custody had broken — and why no safeguard had caught it in time.
On Tuesday, a shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University left two students dead and set off a chain reaction through the Philippine government's security apparatus. By Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Customs had begun asking hard questions about how a weapon in its own inventory ended up in the hands of someone who would use it to kill.
Bureau of Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno issued an order for a complete accounting of every firearm the bureau had distributed across its operations. He also demanded that all units review their compliance with existing policies on gun safety, storage, transport, and safekeeping. The deadline was tight: twenty-four hours for every relevant office to report back.
The weapon at the center of the inquiry was a Glock 22 pistol, chambered in .40 caliber. It had been issued by the bureau to Lt. Lars Jalani, a district commander with the Enforcement and Security Services division at the Zamboanga port. Jalani was the father of the person suspected in the shooting. Deputy Commissioner Nolasco Bathan confirmed the connection in an interview with reporters, noting that while the Glock was government property, a second firearm used in the incident was the suspect's own licensed weapon, verified through the Philippine National Police's Firearms and Explosives Office.
The discovery that a bureau-issued gun had been used in a mass shooting at a school raised immediate questions about oversight and custody. Nepomuceno directed the relevant deputy commissioners and field offices to launch a full investigation, gathering documents, records, statements, and any other evidence connected to what happened. He also instructed all personnel to cooperate fully with authorities already looking into the incident.
Jalani was relieved of his duties. The order for a comprehensive firearms inventory was not a routine administrative task—it was a direct response to a failure in the system. Somewhere between the moment the Glock was issued and the moment it was used to kill two students, the chain of custody had broken. The investigation would need to determine where, and why no one had caught it sooner.
Citazioni salienti
The gun used—the Glock—was a BOC-issued firearm, while the other one was his personal firearm but was licensed— BOC Deputy Commissioner Nolasco Bathan
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su Cebu Daily News ↗
Education