MANILA, Philippines — Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara on Wednesday said the Department of Education (DepEd) has already proposed solutions in addressing school-related violence but admitted having budget shortfalls in hiring more security personnel - a problem that mainly contributed to minors having been able to sneak murder weapons past school gates.
“Maraming kaming pino-propose na solutions diyan. ‘Yung magdagdag nga ng security guard. Kaso, malaking pondo para lahat ng schools magka-security guard. Ang sabi ko, ang suggestion namin mag-umpisa sa malalaking eskwelahan. Dahil napansin namin, uh, karamihan nung mga insidenteng ng karasan, nangyayari sa mga uh large, very large schools. Meaning over over 1,000; 1,500 students. So doon tayo mag-uumpisa. Tapos doon sa mga mas maliliit na eskwelahan,” Angara said in an interview with reporters during the Ceremonial Signing of IRR for the Early Childhood Care and Development Act in New Manila, Quezon City.
(We are proposing many solutions for that. One is actually adding security guards. However, it requires a large budget for every school to have a security guard. So I said, our suggestion is to start with the large schools. Because we noticed that, uh, most of the violent incidents happen in, uh, large, very large schools. Meaning over, over 1,000; 1,500 students. So we will start there. Then eventually move on to the smaller schools.)
Angara said he has sought the help of Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla for force multipliers such as village safety officers (barangay tanod) to do patrol rounds around school perimeters to discourage would-be attackers from sowing violence.
While looking for alternatives for security guards, Anggara said the more plausible next step would be purchase of metal detectors which the DepEd has budget for, Angara said.
“Maraming nagdadala ng mga kutsilyo at saka uh ibang kagamitan. So yun, uh hinapabili na namin. Kasi medyo mas mas kaya namin yun eh. May ilang libo lang yung isang metal detector. So, halos lahat ng schools bibigyan natin ng metal detector,” he said.
(Many people are bringing knives and other equipment. So, we have ordered them [metal detectors] to be purchased. Because that's something we can better afford. A metal detector only costs a few thousand [pesos]. So, we will give metal detectors to almost all schools.)
Angara clarified that this is only for public schools as private ones have their own security.
Angara said entry of cops into school grounds is also encouraged, mentioning Remulla and PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.’s earlier pronouncement that police and barangay security will be more present in schools.
Angara said they are also studying the regulation of social media and other platforms since minors who became children in conflict with the law drew inspiration of violence from incidents in other countries.
