CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – The exodus of students from the state-run Mindanao State University (MSU) continued on Tuesday, December 5, despite reassurances of heightened security measures and calls from the school’s officials urging them to remain for the upcoming examinations.

Michael Joey Hernando, from the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (DRRMO) in neighboring Iligan City, reported that 642 MSU students fled from Marawi to Iligan in the hours following the bombing at the MSU gymnasium, a trend that persisted until Tuesday. 

Hernando said the fleeing students were bound for 14 different provinces across Mindanao from Iligan, an exodus that has raised questions about the efficacy of the security measures in place, as the MSU grapples with the aftermath of the tragic bombing. 

Sunday’s explosion, which claimed lives of four people and left nearly four dozen others hurt, has not only sparked fear among the student population but has also strained the university’s efforts to maintain normalcy and proceed with academic activities. 

It has cast a somber shadow over the university as it prepares for the upcoming two-week final examinations this month.

After the bombing, local governments from various parts of Mindanao swiftly responded, dispatching buses to evacuate students and bring them back home. 

Many of the students said they received calls from their worried parents after the explosion, instructing them to leave Marawi and go home.

On Monday alone, many students from Surigao del Sur province left the MSU campus and Marawi City aboard several vans sent by Governor Alexander Pimentel.

Cagayan de Oro Disaster Risk Reduction Management Officer Nick Jabagat said they came with two buses to fetch at least 150 MSU students heading home.

On Sunday, MSU students gathered at the Anahaw Amphitheater in Iligan where they waited for their ride home.

Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong said he could not blame the parents for wanting their children back home given the security breach that resulted in a terrorist attack during a Catholic Mass at the Ali Dimaporo gym inside the MSU campus.

MSU Executive Vice President Rashid Paca assured that there was ample security provided by the police and military in the campus after the bombing.

Brigadier General Allan Nobleza, director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, has ordered the deployment of at least 150 police officers to secure and conduct patrol operations across the extensive MSU campus in Marawi.

Nobleza, emphasizing the importance of ensuring a sense of security for students and teachers within the MSU campus, said the PNP’s priority is to secure the campus and restore the confidence of the students and the teachers. – Rappler.com