DILG seeks barangay tanod outposts in schools after Zamboanga shooting

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is proposing to establish outposts for barangay watchmen (tanods) inside schools.

In a press briefing at Camp Crame on Wednesday, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the proposal is part of a memorandum circular it will sign with the Department of Education (DepEd) to bolster security measures for learners.

“What we are asking for is to allow barangay tanods to put up stations inside schools,” Remulla explained.

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“Barangay tanods know the students. They can talk to them, give them warnings, so that’s what we want, to enter schools as a further security step,” he added.

Remulla also said that the memorandum circular to be signed with DepEd also seeks to institutionalize anti-bullying practices among students.

Remulla earlier explained that the DILG currently has a memorandum circular tasking Philippine National Police (PNP) personnel to maintain security at schools’ perimeters.

This stems from a long-standing DepEd declaration of schools as “zones of peace,” barring uniformed personnel from entering educational institutions carrying firearms.

The DILG’s proposal came in the wake of the fatal Aug. 18 shooting incident at the Ateneo de Zamboanga University Junior High School in which a Grade 10 student was allegedly killed by a Grade 8 student wielding two guns. /das