By I. Inojales | 09:50 AM June 25, 2026
TAGBILARAN CITY — A firearm assigned to a security guard in Bohol has become part of the ongoing investigation into the deadly school shooting in Tacloban City after authorities discovered that it carries the same serial number as a revolver recovered from one of the teenage suspects.
Police authorities revealed that the unusual finding emerged during efforts to trace a caliber .38 revolver allegedly used in the June 22 shooting at San Jose National High School in Tacloban City, which left three students dead and at least 20 others injured.
The firearm recovered in Tacloban was verified through records of the Firearms and Explosives Office, which showed that the serial number matched that of another firearm registered to a Cebu City-based security agency.
Further verification conducted by the Regional Civil Security Unit in Central Visayas (RCSU-7) found that the registered firearm was assigned to a security guard deployed at an institution in Bohol.
Authorities immediately coordinated with the security agency and later recovered the firearm from the guard for forensic examination.
Investigators clarified that the revolver recovered from the teenage suspect in Tacloban and the firearm assigned in Bohol are two separate weapons despite bearing the same serial number.
The Bohol-based firearm has since been turned over to authorities and is undergoing ballistic and forensic examinations as investigators seek to determine whether either weapon was involved in the school shooting and to establish which firearm, if any, is the original registered weapon.
Authorities are exploring the possibility that one of the firearms may have been cloned, although investigators have yet to determine how two separate revolvers ended up carrying identical serial numbers.
Initial findings showed that both firearms are Armscor caliber .38 revolvers and appear nearly identical in appearance. Investigators noted, however, that the revolver recovered from the crime scene reportedly had traces of epoxy material near its barrel.
Police are also looking into information involving a former security guard, although authorities have not established any direct link between the individual and the shooting incident.
The investigation is being led by the Regional Civil Security Unit in Eastern Visayas (RCSU-8), with RCSU-7 providing assistance in tracing the firearm records and examining the gun recovered in Bohol.
The serial number discrepancy adds a new dimension to the investigation into one of the deadliest school shootings in recent Philippine history.
Police earlier reported that two students, aged 14 and 15, allegedly opened fire inside the campus of San Jose National High School shortly after 9 a.m. on June 22.
The attack killed three students and injured at least 20 others, including 15 who sustained gunshot wounds.
The two minor suspects remain under the custody of the City Social Welfare and Development Office while authorities continue their investigation.
