Public assured of security during opening of classes

CEBU, Philippines - Authorities have assured police officers will be fielded in streets and near schools for the opening of classes on June 13 to secure students and their parents from being a victim of a crime.

Senior Superintendent Armando Radoc, Police Regional Office-7 Regional Operations and Plans Division chief, said that even before the opening of classes the police were already required to conduct patrols at the vicinity of schools and submit regular reports to the regional office.

Senior Superintendent Benjamin Santor Jr., Cebu City Police Office director, said over a thousand personnel would be fielded in streets and in different schools to guard and secure the students, teachers, parents and their guardians.

Aside from that, other police officers will be assigned to do foot patrol and conduct mobile patrols to deter criminals from perpetrating in Mandaue City, said Senior Superintendent Jonathan Cabal, said they have "organized teams to look after the schools" and fielded barangay cops for this reason.

For the Mandaue City Police Office, force multipliers would be tapped for the "Oplan Balik Eskwela" and to assign them to banks and financial institutions to maximize their use.

Cabal said they are profiling Internet shops that are operating near schools for the strict implementation of a city ordinance that prohi-bits students from entering Internet shops during school hours.

Senior Superintendent Arnel Libed, Lapu-Lapu City Police Office director, said 200 police officers and force multipliers will be deployed in 92 schools of the city.

LLCPO would also field police officers in the airport and in the different wharves to secure and monitor incoming and outgoing passengers for the opening of classes.

At the Cebu Police Provincial Office, Superintendent Anthony Bagarinao, deputy provincial director for operations, said Senior Superintendent Clifford Gairanod has ordered the chiefs of police to "supervise the preparation of security implementation in every schools."

Each school would have two police officers who would be supervised by the chief of police who is in turn supervised by two district supervisors, one in the north and one in the south.

Bagarinao is tasked to supervise the north areas while Superintendent Renato Malazarte was tasked to supervise the south areas.  On top of that, CPPO would also field marshals in malls and security detail in every tourist destination and the different wharves in the province.

PRO7 Comendador also said the fielding of personnel is also in line with June and July being months were there is a slight increase in the number of crimes.

He said that "when there are more people around crime tends to happen." To stop this Superintendent Glen Ares, Regional Police Community Relations deputy chief, suggested that school children's uniforms should not have pockets.

 "Atong gihangyo ang mga ginikanan nga ang mga estudyante dili magbutang og bulsa, para walay pickpocket,"Ares said.

Traffic

Aside from petty crimes the police also planned to address the recurrent problem of heavy traffic caused by the sheer volume of vehicles bringing children to school.

To solve the problem the cities of Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue have coordinated with each other to create a plan to ease traffic congestion brought about by the repair of the First Mactan-Mandaue Bridge.

Libed has directed the chiefs of Police Stations 3 and 5, including the motorcycle cops, to help the City Traffic Management System from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.  

For Cebu City, the Cebu City Transportation Office and the Traffic Patrol Group was making a plan for a traffic scheme before and after opening of classes.

Comendador, after hearing the plans of the cities of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, said there is a need for a "holistic approach to traffic and most of the traffic plan are done locally but there is no central plan."

Because of that, he said, PRO-7 will be activating the Regional Traffic Coordinating Center.

The Regional Operations and Plans Division and the Highway Patrol Group-7 will be closely coordinating with each other as well as the different local government units for a unified traffic plan.

Meanwhile, around 30 persons protested in front of the Department of Education-7 and the Commission on Higher Education-7 this morning to convey their concern on the implementation of the K to 12  program and the increase in the tuition in Higher Educational Institutions.

"Hunungon na ang pagpasaka sa mga tuition fee og pag introduce og mga lain nga bayranan og miscellaneous fees. Wala’y nay igo nga justification for those increases, hunungon na and at the same time ibasura ang CHED memorandum no. 3 series of 2012 nga under sa memo," said Niño Olayvar, Anakbayan vice president for Visayas.

The protesters were members of youth organizations such as Anakbayan-Cebu and Kabataan Party-list-Cebu, ACT teachers, and parents.   Next week, they would hold a stakeholders assembly together with incoming senior high students and parents, in front of the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu.

He said yesterday's protest action was part of a nationwide protest of youth organizations because DepEd is not yet ready for the K to 12 because construction of the facilities is not done yet, its voucher program cannot cover all those who would finish junior high, and that K to q2 is not the answer to the fundamental problem of the education sector which is the access to education for all.

"Imbis pasakaan sa gobiyerno ang iyang subsidy for schools both in basic and tertiary, ang gibuhat gi-discourage niya, nga di na necessary moeskuyla og college kay gi-implement ang  K to 12  after graduating sa high school employable namo," Olayvar said.

Commission on Higher Education memorandum number three series of 2012 allows HEIs to increase tuition fees and collect other fees as long as they are following the guidelines and processes issued in the memo and is reasonable and collectible.

"To give meaning to this policy,  the Commission shall ensure that the imposition, collection and increase in tuition, other school fees, and the introduction of new school fees shall be allowed provided they are transparent and complaint with the requirements set forth by law and this regulation and in the presumption of reasonableness all charges, increases  and impositions on tuition and other school fees of HEIs that have passed through the consultation and other requirements herein provided, shall be deemed reasonable and therefore collectible," it stated.

He said that he was not against the K to 12 program itself but on the implementation of the program in the country, which is according to him, does not fit for the country's present state and is not the solution in addressing employment among the youth.  

"Nakit-an nato  ang K to 12 dili sya angayan sa kahimtang sa Pilipinas karon, di man ta babag sa konsepto nga dungagan og duha ka tuig for additional learning, ang atong gusto, karon dili man gud siya mao ang tubag sa giatubang sa atong mga kabatan-onan og estudyante,"  he said. —  Bryner L. Diaz and Bea Cara Caña (FREEMAN)