Police, DepEd ink school safety pact in Zamboanga Sibugay province

IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay — In a pioneering move to safeguard schools against rising safety threats and digital risks, the Zamboanga Sibugay Police Provincial Office (ZSBPPO) and the Department of Education (DepEd) Zamboanga Sibugay Division signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Thursday afternoon, Nov. 5, launching “Project AKLAT.”

Short for Project Alalay ang Kapulisan para sa Ligtas na Akademikong Tahanan, the initiative is recognized as the first school safety partnership of its kind in both the Zamboanga Peninsula region and the entire country.

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Modeled after the ‘Pulis sa Barangay’ concept, Project AKLAT assigns a dedicated police officer to serve as a focal point for every school across the province. The assigned officers are tasked with coordinating directly with school administrations, scheduling proactive awareness programs, and implementing protective measures to prevent school-related violence and active shooting incidents seen elsewhere.

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Col. Barnard Danie Dasugo, ZSBPPO director, emphasized the urgency of the initiative following recent security concerns involving students.

While Zamboanga Sibugay has recorded no actual violent incidents in schools, law enforcers recently investigated reports of social media accounts imitating threats seen in other regions. Investigations later confirmed these were dummy accounts.

“Still, we are not taking these lightly. It should be addressed properly and immediately because we cannot fully control the environment of students, particularly when they are on digital platforms,” Dasugo said. “That is why we are joining hands with DepEd.”

Dasugo called on parents to take an active role in monitoring their children’s activities, emphasizing that school safety begins at home.

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“Guidance starts with the parents; the school comes second as a learning environment,” Dasugo noted. “We cannot implement this effectively without the support of the community, particularly the family, which is the basic unit of society.”

For his part, Schools Division Superintendent Virgilio Batan Jr. welcomed the police initiative, calling it a vital boost to teachers who remain dedicated to shaping the values of young learners.

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Batan defended educators against public blame over youth violence, noting that core values—being maka-Diyos, maka-tao, maka-kalikasan, and maka-bansa—are deeply embedded in the basic education curriculum.

“We are grateful for this initiative from the Zamboanga Sibugay Police under Director Dasugo. This proactive measure will help schools address threats where our learners, who ought to be at the center of the educational process, face risks driven by external factors like technology,” Batan said.

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He added that while police officers have long responded to school concerns informally, the MOU solidifies a structured “community approach.” Under the agreement, station officers will actively train and capacitate teachers, students, and local residents to identify and counter emerging safety threats. /jpv