BAGUIO CITY – The Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) disclosed it will deploy special teams composed of a number of law enforcers to the different public schools to ensure the smooth opening of classes starting June 3, 2019, and prevent any untoward incident that compromises the safety of schoolchildren and students who will be starting school.
BCPO Acting City Director Police Col. Allen Rae Co said that at least 100 organic members of the local police force will be deployed as members of the special teams temporarily assigned to oversee the various aspects of peace and order right at the start of classes and to ensure the smooth flow of traffic in schools.
He admitted that the local police force will be maximizing its existing strength to make sure the opening of classes in the city will be smooth and once the situation will stabilize, these police can go back to their respective assignments and perform their regular duties and responsibilities.
According to him, the law enforcers assigned to oversee the security and safety of the schoolchildren and students will only stay within the premises of the schools for at least a week to ensure the situation is stabilized before they will be pulled out back to their original assignments.
The police official reported the appropriate operational and implementation plans of the local police force had already been put in place and ready for execution during the opening of classes and adjustments will be done as needed to prevent unnecessary problems arising that will affect the smooth opening of classes on Monday.
The police officer stated that there are no significant changes in the plans of the local police force for the opening of classes as the existing plans have been proven to be effective over the past several years and what needs to be done will be the lessening of the traffic congestions within school zones so that students, teachers and other school officials will not be late in going to their schools.
More than 100,000 schoolchildren and students are expected to go back to their schools when classes open on June 3, 2019, but the said figure is expected to increase.
Co explained that the prevailing police to population ratio in the city is still considered to be manageable at 1:1,200 which is way below the ideal police to population ratio of 1:500.
He urged the public to cooperate with the peacekeeping interventions and traffic schemes that will be implemented during the opening of classes to ensure the prevalence of orderliness in the different school campuses when people flock to the said places to go back to their daily routine.
Aside from the strict implementation of exiting law, rules and regulations, local police officers believe that the community also plays a key role in ensuring the prevalence of decent peace and order and smooth flow of traffic in the different parts of the city even when there is heavy influx of visitors.
By Dexter A. See