Polangui: The municipal government of Polangui, Albay, has taken a significant step towards ensuring the safety of its educational communities by establishing the Municipal Safer School Zones Task Force. The initiative aims to create a safer environment for students, teachers, and school communities.
According to Philippines News Agency, the formation of the task force follows Executive Order (EO) 61, signed by Polangui Mayor Jesciel Richard Salceda. The order aligns with the Department of the Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circular 2026-037, which directs local government units to implement safer school zones using the S.A.F.E.R. framework. This framework includes steps such as Survey and coordinate, Assign and deploy, Facilitate safe movement, Escalate urgent concerns, and Report and review.
Mayor Salceda highlighted the need for a unified interoffice and interagency body to manage and monitor the implementation of the Safer School Zones program across the municipality. The task force is tasked with ensuring that all 44 barangays in Polangui conduct safety audits and risk assessments for public and private schools, identifying potential hotspots.
Additionally, the task force will oversee the scheduling of barangay tanod deployments and synchronize the presence of police personnel and traffic enforcers with school schedules. Measures to facilitate safe movement around schools, such as pedestrian crossings and traffic-calming strategies, will also be prioritized.
To ensure ongoing compliance, village chiefs are required to submit reports by specific deadlines, with the first due on September 18. Barangay tanods will serve as unarmed civilian support, focusing on visible presence and various assistance roles, remaining outside school premises unless invited by school authorities.
In a related development, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) - Albay has urged media practitioners to maintain ethical standards when reporting on minors or students. KBP-Albay President Reynard Sevillano emphasized the importance of providing accurate information without sensationalizing the stories of those involved, particularly minors, to avoid exacerbating their trauma.
