School bag, locker check proposal to be tackled

MANILA, Philippines — Education officials and the leaders of Metro Manila’s police force are set to meet tomorrow to discuss a proposal to allow surprise inspection of student bags and lockers in schools as part of the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Chief Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar said he is meeting officials from the Department of Education (DepEd) in his office at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City at 4 p.m.

“We requested the meeting so all of us can study our proposal,” Eleazar said in a phone interview.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones and undersecretary Nepomuceno Malaluan have expressed concern over the plan. It’s not clear who is representing the DepEd at the meeting.

“If there are law enforcement operations or initiatives that would, for example, target students, we would like that to be properly coordinated with the Department of Education due to considerations such as child protection policy and schools as zones of peace,” Malaluna said in an interview over dzBB radio.

Education undersecretary Jesus Mateo said they will thoroughly review the details of the police proposal to ensure that no violation of laws such as the Data Privacy Act will be committed.

“We welcome the intention of the proposal,” he said in Filipino. “But we have to talk about the details… We need to protect the rights of our students.”

Eleazar revealed the plan at the weekly Kapihan sa Manila Bay last Wednesday.

Yesterday, he clarified that teachers and officers from parent-teacher associations would perform the surprise inspections and not police officers, citing an existing agreement with the DepEd that bars members of the uniformed service like the Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines from entering schools without clearance.

“I never said that we are the ones who will conduct inspections,” he said.

A student who is a minor caught in possession of illegal drugs will not be arrested or charged, he said. The police will step in to determine the source of the narcotics.

The NCRPO chief said the tack could discourage young students from getting involved in illegal drugs.