The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) on Wednesday called on schools to strengthen campus security measures following the recent shooting incident in Tacloban City.
DCPO spokesperson Major Ma. Theresita Gaspan said the matter had been raised during coordination conferences with the Department of Education Region 11 (DepEd 11) and various academic institutions.
“That is why, during our coordination conferences with DepEd and the academe, one of our requests is for them to further strengthen their security measures. Through this, they may be able to allocate funds for additional security guards within their schools. We encourage this as a way to help prevent the entry of bad elements and avoid similar incidents,” Gaspan said.
She clarified that the DCPO’s role is focused on perimeter security and patrol operations around schools, citing manpower limitations.
“We are limited to perimeter security because we are also conducting patrol operations. As for deploying personnel inside schools, such as through Police Assistance Desks (PADs), that has not been considered since we have many schools to cover and our police force is limited,” she said.
Gaspan said police officers are deployed near schools from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to assist students and manage traffic during peak hours.
She also encouraged schools to tighten entry and exit controls, conduct random bag inspections, and hold active shooter drills.
“Not only earthquake and fire drills, but also drills for active shooting threats should be conducted to help prevent incidents similar to what happened in Tacloban,” she said.
Gaspan added that schools seeking police deployment inside their campuses may submit a request to the city director for evaluation. She noted that the DCPO’s more than 2,000 personnel are responsible for securing 182 barangays and numerous establishments across Davao City.
