MANILA -- Senators called on school and police authorities to tighten security measures in campuses as series of bomb threats have reached several schools in Manila in the wake of the Davao City bomb attack.
Senator Juan Edgardo Angara has filed Senate Bill 946 or the Campus Safety and Security Act that seeks to establish a Crime Prevention Committee (CPC) in all colleges and universities.
The committee will formulate policies and strategies that would eliminate threats to students’ safety and security.
Under the proposed measure, Angara seeks to have the CPC formulate and implement crime prevention strategies and programs concerning campus safety and campus law enforcement to prevent theft, robbery, rape and other forms of violence within and outside the school.
Angara said the measure is meant to arm the students with the know-how on courses of action in case of emergency to guarantee security and ensure expedient response and assistance from the authorities.
“Schools must be conducive to learning and intellectual discourse, not venues for violence and crime. Students should be able to go to school without fear for their physical well-being,” Angara said.
He pointed out that while such bomb scares turned out to be a hoax, authorities should not take these threats lightly and should remain on full alert and take extra precautions to ensure the safety of the students.
Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV echoed Angara, saying that school officials must intensify security and be extra vigilant in schools amid these bomb threats.
“We call on the PNP to take extra care of our schools, teachers, and most especially, our students. Please make sure that our schools are safe,” said Aquino, who chairs the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture.
Schools at the university belt near Malacañang that received bomb threats include the College of the Holy Spirit Manila, Centro Escolar University, San Beda College, Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology, Emilio Aguinaldo College, as well as the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
On Thursday, September 8, the Philippine College of Criminology suspended classes after getting a bomb threat which turned out to be negative. (PNA)