Officials of all University of the Philippines (UP) campuses have been conducting separate reviews of their own security measures to ensure the safety of students and residents in their respective areas.
In an interview, UP vice president for public affairs Prospero de Vera said that a “one size fits all” policy could not be applied because the situation in each campus was unique.
Some areas, however, shared similar problems such as non-UP personnel who live on campus.
De Vera said that a summit was held last March to address security issues, including the need to provide campuses with equipment like closed circuit television cameras—a move supported by the UP System.
UP has 14 campuses nationwide.
Last week, the house of UP professor and Inquirer columnist Randy David on the Diliman campus was strafed by still unidentified men. The month before, an agriculture student was robbed and killed near the UP Los Baños campus.
In February, a female student ended up in the hospital after a robber stabbed her in the head inside Vinzons Hall on the Diliman campus.
Late last year, another UP student was raped and killed in
Laguna province.
In the strafing of David’s house, De Vera said the UP System was leaving it to the Diliman chancellor to address the issue.
At the same time, he also said that the university was mulling a possible review of an agreement banning the presence of policemen on the 493-hectare Diliman campus.
According to him, there was a proposal for the creation of a task force to oversee the crafting of new policies and guidelines.
“Its duties will include the possible review of UP’s agreement with the Philippine National Police (PNP) against police presence on campus,” he said.
The proposal is now with the Board of Regents, the university’s highest decision-making body as it is a system-wide matter.
“I believe a review of that agreement is timely. It’s not realistic to put a blanket restriction like that if the sharing of information and expertise can be done immediately even without a review of the memorandum of agreement,” De Vera said.
The sprawling flagship campus in Diliman, Quezon City, has its own 42-man police force, backed up by 303 guards and 51 watchmen.
But Prof. Edgardo Dagdag,
Diliman campus security officer, believed that the arrangement with the PNP—that law enforcement agencies would not be allowed to enter the campus without prior consent from UP officials—was only proper.
He pointed that the university has long enjoyed a culture of freedom and that the sight of policemen and soldiers might “cramp the style” of UP constituents.
“The mind works better in an atmosphere of freedom… I still believe that the existing setup is just fine,” Dagdag said in a separate phone interview.