Crime prevention body in schools proposed

MANILA -- To provide a secure environment for students, a lawmaker is proposing the creation of a crime prevention committee in campuses throughout the country.

Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo Angara filed House Bill 6479 following the steady increase in the crime rate inside campuses.

Just last week, a student of the University of Santo Tomas was stabbed inside the campus of Far Eastern University. Frustrated murder charges were already filed against the suspects.

Angara said his proposed crime prevention committee shall be in charge of formulating a crime prevention strategy.

Access to information with regard to campus crime statistics, as well as crime prevention plans in these schools, will equip parents in making informed choices as to which school to send their children to.

"At the same time, students currently enrolled in their respective universities need to know the measure undertaken by their institution, as well as courses of action in cases of emergency to guarantee security and expedient assistance, if need be," Angara said.

Under the proposal, the crime prevention committee is tasked to coordinate with school heads in the maintenance of peace and order within school premises.

The measure provides for the composition of the crime prevention committee, which would include the vice president for community affairs or heads of office that deal with campus security and safety as the presiding officer; vice president for student affairs or those heads of office that deal with the welfare and discipline of students as alternate presiding officer.

University student council president/supreme student council president or chairperson; class presidents of the high level and college presidents; corps commander of the ROTC and CAT; head of campus police or security personnel; the president of the parent-teachers association or its equivalent and the secretary of the university council, which shall serve as the committee secretary, shall likewise be members of the crime prevention committee. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)