Campus Shockwave: Grade 9 Student Caught with ₱200K Worth of Shabu in Bacolod School

BACOLOD CITY, PHILIPPINES — A routine school day dissolved into local outrage on Tuesday, July 22, 2026, after a 17-year-old Grade 9 student was caught possessing a massive cache of illegal drugs inside a public high school campus in Barangay Banago. The incident has sent shockwaves through the local community, highlighting the alarming vulnerability of schools to the illegal drug trade.

The incident unfolded during the afternoon dismissal at the school's exit gate. A sharp-eyed school security guard was conducting routine bag inspections when he noticed highly suspicious items nestled inside the student's backpack.

A closer examination revealed two knot-tied transparent plastic sachets containing a white crystalline substance. The recovered contraband weighed approximately 30 grams, with a staggering estimated street value of ₱204,000. Stunned by the discovery, school officials immediately isolated the learner and sounded the alarm to local law enforcement.

Responding swiftly to the call, personnel from the Bacolod City Police Station 3 alongside the City Intelligence Unit (CIU) arrived on the campus to manage the situation.

In strict compliance with Republic Act No. 9344, also known as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, authorities have withheld the identity of the 17-year-old minor. The suspected shabu (methamphetamine) was officially inventoried at the scene before being turned over to a forensic laboratory for qualitative examination. The student was taken into protective custody by the police before being formally endorsed to the Social Development Center (SDC) for proper intervention and legal disposition.

The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) has launched a deep-dive investigation into how a junior high school student managed to acquire commercial quantities of highly regulated narcotics.

"Investigators will determine the source of the illegal drugs and ascertain whether the minor may have been exploited or used by individuals involved in illegal drug trafficking," stated PRO-NIR spokesperson Lt. Col. Joem Malong in an official release.

The incident follows a highly publicized arrest just a month prior on June 21, where police apprehended a 21-year-old Grade 11 student in the same barangay who was caught carrying 300 grams of shabu worth over ₱2 million in a buy-bust operation.

Reacting to the trend, PRO-NIR Director Brig. Gen. Romano V. Cardiño urged absolute vigilance across educational institutions. “Our schools must remain safe spaces for learning and development," Cardiño emphasized, praising the guard's swift action while calling for tighter collaboration among parents, schools, and local police to protect vulnerable youth from syndicates.