By PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA — Higher education institutions (HEIs) in the country were urged to carry out proactive security approaches to protect students from violence.
Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara filed Senate Bill 197, which seeks the creation of a Crime Prevention Committee in HEIs.
Under the bill, the committee shall protect students from all forms of violence “within and outside the area where the HEI is located.”
Crimes in schools show a “steady increase,” Angara lamented.
Eighteen kidnapping for ransom cases involving 22 victims happened in Luzon from January to August this year alone, he said, citing a report from the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group.
Police said Filipino-Chinese students and businessmen were the prime targets in most kidnapping for ransom cases.
“It is necessary for students [and] their parents and/or guardians to have access to information with regards to campus crime statistics, as well as crime prevention plans in these campuses,” said Angara.
He said his proposed law will also ensure that Filipino children are sent to safe schools.
The Crime Prevention Committee shall be composed of a university or college’s vice president for community affairs, vice president for student affairs, the student council’s president/chairperson and secretary, class presidents of the high school level, head of the security personnel, a representative of student groups, and the president of the Parents-Teachers’ Association, said the bill.
Committee members shall formulate and implement crime prevention programs.
“Schools should be conducive to learning and intellectual discourse, not venues for violence and crime,” Angara said. “We must ensure a safe and secure environment for students to pursue their studies within these institutions without fear of their physical well-being.”/PN
