Security pact on schools drafted

Following the series of fraternity related violent incidents in Metro Manila schools, the National Capital Region Police Office yesterday drafted in Camp Crame a security arrangement with various metro school officials.

NCRPO director Chief Superintendent Edgar Aglipay said that the draft agreement seeks to provide better police support to the security personnel employed by private colleges and universities.

Noticeably absent from the meeting were top officials of the University of the Philippines in Diliman. The university was represented by Florendo Alejo, who represented the UP Police.

At about 8:30 pm. last Thursday, Daniel Reyes, a third year UP Civil Engineering student, and a member of the Alpha Phi Beta fraternity, was stabbed to death by suspected member of the rival Sigma Rho fraternity inside the campus.

"The purpose of the meeting was to have a formal agreement that will formalize the cooperation between the police and the school authorities with regards to the security of the campuses, especially in preventing crimes," Aglipay said.

Aglipay said that during the meeting, a number of the school officials present have expressed their willingness to allow the presence of uniformed policemen in their campuses.

In addition, the NCRPO and the various school officials also placed under serious study a four point proposal by the police to improve security inside and outside campuses.

Under the proposal, policeman will include campuses in their daily beat patrols. Policemen will also be required to sign the school's security logbook everyday and confer with guards. In addition, policemen will also hold regular security conferences with school officials and will be ready to assist school security personnel during fraternity rumbles.

"Because of academic freedom, the security in school campuses is provided by private security guards. At present, we can only come in upon the request of school authorities. That is why we need a formal cooperation. So that in times when they need police support, we can immediately provide it," he said.

"According to the proposed agreement, we have to inform them (school officials) of our entry to the campus before, during and after the police operation," Aglipay added.

It will be recalled that Aglipay called on all metro school authorities to attend the consultative meeting following the grenade throwing incident at the Technological Institute of the Philippines in Quezon City wherein a student was killed.

The incident was later traced by police to a bitter rivalry between the Samahang Ilokano and the Batangas Varsitarian fraternities.