Cebu City is considering requiring students to use transparent bags, provided it imposes no additional costs, as chief of staff Kenneth Siasar announced during a press conference on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026.
Councilor Edgardo Labella II has introduced a proposed City Council resolution urging public and private schools in Cebu City to install metal detectors at entrances and premises.
Kenneth Siasar stated that the city government is reviewing existing security protocols with school officials and the Philippine National Police following recent violence involving students and minors.
CEBU City is considering requiring students to use transparent bags as part of efforts to tighten school security, while the City Council is separately pushing for metal detectors in public and private schools.
Mayor Nestor Archival is open to the use of transparent bags as long as the measure does not impose additional costs on students and their families, according to his chief of staff, Kenneth Siasar.
The proposal comes as San Jose National High School in Tacloban City has begun using transparent backpacks as an added security measure following a shooting on its campus.
The school distributed see-through backpacks to students to make it easier for security personnel to check what they are carrying at the entrance.
Security review
Siasar said during a press conference Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, that the City is considering the measure as it reviews existing security protocols
with school officials and the
Philippine National Police (PNP) following recent violence involving students and minors.
He said the City has yet to decide whether transparent bags should be mandatory.
Before adopting such a policy, Siasar said, the City needs to study the legal and practical issues involved in inspecting students’ personal belongings.
“From a legal standpoint, we cannot touch or physically handle the bag,” he said.
A transparent bag, he said, would allow school personnel to see what students are carrying without opening or handling it.
Metal detectors
While the idea of requiring students to use transparent bag remains under study, a proposed resolution before the City Council seeks another security measure: metal detectors at school entrances.
Councilor Edgardo Labella II is urging public and private schools in the city to install metal detectors at entrances and elsewhere on their premises and adopt protocols for their use.
The proposal cites recent reports of school-related violence, including physical assaults and the carrying of bladed and other dangerous weapons, which have raised concerns among parents, teachers and school administrators.
The resolution describes metal detectors as an additional safeguard against firearms, knives and other dangerous weapons being brought onto school grounds.
It also calls on the Department of Education-Cebu City Division to coordinate with the City Council’s committee on education and the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office in providing technical guidance and, when feasible, assistance to public schools in acquiring and properly using metal detectors and other safety equipment.
Campus checks
Siasar said the City Government continues to coordinate with school officials and the PNP on ways to improve security in and around campuses.
The review includes assessing the ability of campus security personnel to detect weapons and examining conditions outside school grounds, where students commonly gather or pass after classes.
The City also plans to ask the PNP for a template that schools can use to strengthen their security protocols.
Siasar said metal detectors have begun to be deployed in Cebu City schools following the shooting incidents in Tacloban City and Zamboanga City.
The measures are part of a broader discussion on how schools can prevent violence while keeping security procedures appropriate for students. / CAV