BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance known as the Student Security and Safety measure.
The ordinance authored by Councilor Leandro B. Yangot, Jr. stated the measure shall apply to all primary, secondary, tertiary, vocational and technical schools, public or private, operating in the city.
Under the proposed, the objectives of the ordinance shall be to provide better security measures in the schools in cooperation with government agencies and local authorities surrounding the institutions to safeguard education sector investments.
Yangot added the various measures that will be implemented by the schools, in cooperation with the concerned government agencies and local government authorities, include increased police and barangay public order and safety officer visibility that will include all areas within the immediate vicinity of every school, installation of fully operational close-circuit television cameras in all schools, installation and maintenance of lamp posts, storm and other disaster response protection program and loading and unloading zones.
The ordinance stipulated that all schools in the city as well as local authorities, shall effect full compliance to the measures that were earlier defined not later than 3 months upon the enactment of the measure.
According to the proposed measure, any person or official found violating the pertinent provisions of the ordinance shall be penalized by a fine of P5,000, an imprisonment of 30 days, or both, at the discretion of the court.
If the offender is an educational institution, Yangot claimed the penalty shall be imposed upon the officer or officers responsible for the identified violation.
He pointed out that in the exercise of its police power and the general welfare clause of the Local Government Code, the local legislative body may lay down ordinances to promote health and safety, maintain peace and order and preserve the comfort and convenience of their inhabitants.
He emphasized the city is host to majority of schools, colleges and universities in Northern Luzon with one-third of the city’s population consisting of students living within and around the surrounding towns of Benguet.
He noted the increasing petty crime rates involving students, such as bullying and vandalism, and the frequency of crimes victimizing students are some of the most alarming and disheartening facts culled from the records of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO).
Further, he disclosed disasters have a major impact on the youth and education system and each year, the likely consequences of climate change suggests that children are the most vulnerable to natural hazards despite the adoption of Ordinance No. 58, series of 2008, which was supposed to assist in the optimum development of every student and programs catering to student welfare such as tuition fee, student housing and scholarship funding, further legislative measures focusing on student security and safety is important to attune to the call of the time.
By Dexter A. See
