Student peace councils to reduce crime venues

THE concept is fairly simple: reduce the venues for criminality and the crime incidence necessarily goes down. Using this as an epitome of a larger reality, the local government of Loboc undertakes a trailblazing program in coordination with the National Police Commission (Napolcom) and the Assumption College of Manila in an outreach that would soon make this town's schools a haven for peace and order. This it does by enlisting the existing student governments and councils to take on the job as peace councils and operate a cell where students become vigilant of what is happening especially inside the school campus.

Mayor Leon Calipusan, during the launching of the pilot project which Napolcom Director of Police Records and Management General Edgardo Acuña, Commissioner Bernardo Calibo and Director Myrna Medina and Assumption College's Director for Plans Research and Development Marietta Biliran personally attended, was all agog when he spoke before police chiefs assembled at the Joventino A Digal complex where a police upgrading seminar was one of the activities.

In his message, the police general who broke tradition by coming to the level of the rank and file in the country's elitist police organization cited the local government of Loboc for really going the mile in making peace and order initiatives possible here in this small town becoming a hub of tourism activities in central Bohol. Loboc PNP acting police chief SPO4 Antonio Gujelde was also overheard saying that the project definitely makes the town a better tourism venue since even the students would now be cop's partners in law enforcement as well as making the schools a venue for peace and order. In a presentation of the Loboc student councils, Loboc Academy Philippine Maritime Institute students impressed the PNP Camp Crame based police general who shared that he has definitely seen a perfect venue where the program could be launched.

The program, Gen. Acuña said would also be replicated in the towns here to make a dent on rising criminality that would otherwise mar the image Bohol wants to project and keep to keep international tourists coming. Student councils also attending the seminar workshop before the launching were Oy National High School, Camayaan National High School , Quinoguitan National High School. Loboc also hosted the chief of police in Bohol police stations including the Mayor's invitation to the Crame based officials who were also into spreading the word on the integrated police transformation that should have been seeping into the psyche of every police element in the country.

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