COMMISSION on Higher Education Chairperson Prospero De Vera yesterday called on universities and colleges in the country to review and update their security plans in the wake of a sexual assault incident at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City.
“I hope this is a wake-up call for our school authorities to treat the safety of their students and employees more seriously,” De Vera told the Laging Handa public briefing, referring to the sexual assault on a UP female student last week.
De Vera said university and college officials must review the security situation on their campuses, check on crime incidents and the areas where these happened.
“Where are the poorly lit areas on the campus? Which routes should be used by students and personnel so they could stay safe?” he added.
He said higher education institutions abroad have security mechanisms in place to deter the commission of crimes on their campuses and quickly respond to incidents concerning their students, faculty members and personnel.
He added these security plans as well as emergency contact numbers are even printed in brochures provided to students and school personnel.
“It seems our universities are not taking the safety and security of their students seriously.
It’s about time that they take the issue seriously and review the rules,” he said.
He called on universities and colleges to hire and deploy additional security personnel and install security cameras, especially in poorly-lit areas on their campuses.
In the wake of the incident, UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Carlo Vistan II has pushed for the installation of more closed-circuit television cameras around the sprawling Diliman campus.
Vistan said that while he expects resistance to his plan, it is the right thing to do to ensure the safety of the students and the UP community.
“There are security concerns and the anti-Big Brother mentality of certain sectors on campus. But I think we will be forgiven if we put CCTVs there,” Vistan said.
Additional roving security personnel will also be deployed in different areas of the campus after office hours.
