‍MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos said teachers should not be blamed for the recent shooting incident at a school in Zamboanga City, as she criticized remarks made by Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro on teachers and morality.

In a video message, Marcos defended teachers and said responsibility for the incident should not be placed on them, especially since a teacher was reportedly among those targeted during the shooting.

"Ano ba naman sila, bakit naman sisisihin ang mga hamak na teacher, samantalang yung isang guro, siya pa nga ang pinupuntirya? Muntik-muntikan na nga, sinweretehan na lang. Ano naman ang malay ng mga teacher, pambihira naman," Senator Imee Marcos said. 

[“Why blame the teachers when one of them was even a target? What would the teachers know about it?”]

The senator said authorities and agencies responsible for monitoring and regulating matters related to public safety should instead be held accountable and scrutinized over how such incidents could be prevented.

Castro later responded to Marcos, saying the senator should have watched the entire Palace press briefing before commenting on her remarks.

According to Castro, her statements were taken out of context and were not intended to blame teachers for the shooting incident.

She also urged Marcos to exercise critical thinking, listen carefully and understand the full context of an issue before making public statements.

Castro further criticized the senator’s manner of speaking and challenged her to also call out the behavior of her political allies.

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