Davao City hires 200 school guards

MORE security guards will be deployed to keep watch over schools in this city, following two stabbing incidents that killed one and left another in critical condition.

Erwin Alparaque, assistant city administrator, said the City Government recognizes the need to assign and deploy more school guards whose task is not only to protect students and teachers but also to focus on other security issues in schools.

Alparaque said the city hired some 200 Local School Board (LSB) guards who will be deployed in various public schools in Davao City even before the stabbing incident in Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Senior Elementary School and Jose L. Porras Elementary School happened.

The request, he added, was made after the killing of a suspected Jemaah Islamiyah bomber in Davao. But before the guards could be deployed, the stabbing incidents occurred.

The first incident involved a 14-year-old grade school boy who stabbed to death a 16-year-old student of Davao City National High School inside the Kapitan Tomas campus on Tuesday morning.

The second stabbing incident happened in Jose L. Porras Elementary School on Thursday afternoon when a 13-year-old boy was stabbed nine times by his 13-year-old classmate. The victim is now in critical condition.

The fatal stabbing incident in Davao City National High School

Alparaque said that in the case of Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Senior Elementary School, school guards must strictly implement the "No ID, No Entry" policy to prevent such incident.

"Kailangan naa gyud ing-ana nga policy kay kung gi-implement lang na ug tarong unta, dili to kasulod (The incident in Kapitan Tomas would not have happened had the policy been implemented)," Alparaque said in an interview at his office on Friday.

Davao City Police Office (DCPO) chief Ronald dela Rosa said most of such incidents are caused by squabbles among gangs.

In Kapitan Tomas, Senior Superintendent dela Rosa dispatched seven police personnel last Thursday to safeguard the school following reports that gang members who were allies of the slain student are out to avenge the death of their fellow member.

Dela Rosa said the police personnel, who were pulled out from DCPO and San Pedro police, will guard the school only during class hours starting Thursday until graduation day later this month.

For the school guards to be augmented, Alparaque said the responsibility of the City Government is limited to recruiting and deploying school guards, but the administrative supervision will be by the school principal.

"Nag rely lang man pud mi sa request sa mga principal. Kailangan gyud ta mag augment especially kanang pang gabie kay daghan daw kawat mahitabo ana. So dapat naa gyud school guards 24/7 (We only rely on the request of principals. We need to augment hiring of school guards because there’s also a lot of robbery incidents happening in schools. We need guards 24/7)," he said.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio earlier said there were 118 new LSB school guards with endorsements and another 83 without endorsements yet in February.

She said the new LSB school guards will augment the more than 262 existing guards being paid by the City Government of Davao.

The LSB school guards will be paid through the Special Education Fund, she added.

Duterte-Carpio said they have to intensify security measures in schools after entry of alleged Malaysian Jemaah Islamiya bomber in the city and other terrorist issues that include several bomb scares, shooting incident and theft inside schools.

"I-train and mag-orientation pa sila. That's the reason ang principal ang ginapa-recommend sa guard to ensure na someone responsible enough ilaha i-submit as nominee," Duterte-Carpio said at the sidelines of the Philippine Councilors League welcome dinner at the SMX Convention Center last month.

Based on the record of the Department of Education, Davao City has a total number of 287 elementary and 75 high schools. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)