Deployment of more cops opposed

A teachers' group has warned that the Department of Education's plan to allow more police officers near schools to curb youth violence could turn campuses into "extensions of police camps" and create a culture of fear among students.

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Education Secretary Sonny Angara said he had asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to step up cops' visibility around the vicinity of schools and possibly train barangay and school “first responders” to violent incidents, during his meeting with PNP Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III on August 15.

But in a statement on Monday, August 18, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said the presence of more cops would not prevent violence among students and instead normalize “militarization” in schools.

“Schools are meant to be centers of learning and growth, not extensions of police camps,” ACT chairperson Vladimer Quetua said. “Increasing police presence will only cultivate fear, surveillance, and a culture of violence, instead of addressing the conditions that drive youth towards violent acts.”

Quetua also questioned the credibility of the police to act as deterrents to violence. He noted that the DepEd-PNP meeting came a day before the anniversary of the 2017 killing of 17-year-old student Kian delos Santos in an anti-drug operation, a case that has since become emblematic of police abuses.