REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES:
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
5922

House Bill No.

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. MANUEL DG. CABOCHAN III

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Itis the State’s mandate to promote and protect the physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and
social well-being of the youth. This includes ensuring the safety and security of the academic
community, majority of whom are students, in all institutions of higher and technical education
in the country.

According to the Philippine National Police, students remain to be vulnerable targets of
criminals and other opportunists. There has been a consistently increasing crime statistics in
schools and campuses all over the country. Therefore, this bill seeks to ensure the safety and
security of the academic community in every higher education institution (HEI) and technical
vocational institutions (TVI) through the establishment of a Safety and Security Committee
(SSC).

The SSC shall formulate policies and strategies that will help protect the academic community
from both internal and external threats to their safety and security, such as theft, robbery, rape
and other forms of violence. It shall also be tasked to conduct seminars on crime and drug
prevention and control, and initiate an intensive information drive regarding this matter.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate approval of this measure is earnestly sought.

MANUEL ee cuan ul

Representative
Magdalo Para Sa Pilipino Party-List


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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 5922

Introduced by MAGDALO Party-List Representative
HON. MANUEL DG. CABOCHAN III

AN ACT
MANDATING HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND TECHNICAL-
VOCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS TO ENSURE THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF
THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY FROM INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL THREATS,
‘THEREBY CREATING A SAFETY AND SECURITY COMMITTEE FOR THIS
PURPOSE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Campus Safety and
Security Act".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — \t is the responsibility of the State to uphold and
promote the right of the youth to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special
protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty and exploitation, and other conditions
prejudicial to their development as provided under the Constitution. It is also hereby declared
the policy of the State to ensure access to quality education by ensuring the safety and security
of students in all institutions of higher learning and recognizing the role of the youth in nation-
building and in the development of the country.

SEC. 3. Scope. — This Act shall apply to all higher education institutions (HEIs) and
technical-vocational institutions (TVIs).

SEC. 4. Safety and Security Services. - The HEIs and TVIs shall endeavor to deliver
safety and security services to students, which include the provision of safe and secure
environment and the conduct of programs and activities that promote safety and security from
both internal and external threats.

For this purpose, the following shall be provided by HEIs and TVIs:

(a) A safe, accessible and secure environment, buildings and facilities that shall comply
with government standards. Licensed and competent security personnel shall ensure
the safety and security of the students, faculty, non-teaching personnel and other
members of the academic community and their belongings; and

(b) A mechanism for students to help in crime prevention, safety and security of the
concerned HEI and TVL


SEC. 5. Creation of a Safety and Security Committee. — A Safety and Security
Committee (SSC) shall be established in every HEI and TVI to formulate policies and strategies
that shall help protect the academic community from both internal and external threats to their
safety and security, such as theft, robbery, rape and other forms of violence within and outside
the area where the HEI or TVI is located. The composition of the SSC shall be determined by
the governing boards of the HEIs, and the owners/proprietors/administrators TVIs, as the case
may be.

SEC. 6. Duties and Responsibilities of the SSC. — The SSC shall have the following

duties and responsibilities:

(a) To formulate, in consultation with the school head, the chief of police where HEI
or TVI is located, the punong barangay, and other security specialists as maybe
necessary and appropriate, a Safety and Security Strategy. Such Safety and Security
Strategy shall include the following:

(1) A statement of current campus policies regarding procedures and facilities
to be used by students and others to report criminal actions or other
emergencies occurring on campus and policies concerning the institution's
response to such reports;

(2) A statement of current policies concerning security and access to campus
facilities, including campus residences, and security considerations used in
the maintenance of campus facilities;

(3) A statement of current policies concerning campus law enforcement
including the following:

(i) The enforcement authority of security personnel, including their
working relationship with national and local police agencies; and

(ii) Policies which encourage accurate and prompt reporting of all
crimes to the campus police and the appropriate police agencies.

(4) A description of the type and frequency of programs designed to inform
students and employees about campus security procedures and practices and
to encourage students and employees to be responsible for their own security
and the security of others;

(5) A description of programs designed to inform students and employees about
the prevention of crimes;

(6) A statement of policy concerning the monitoring and recording through
local police agencies of criminal activities committed by off-campus student
organizations which are recognized by the institution and that are engaged
in by students attending the institution, including those student
organizations with off-campus housing facilities; and

(7) A statement of policy regarding the possession, use, and sale of alcoholic
beverages and the enforcement of underage drinking laws and a statement
of policy regarding the possession, use, and sale of illegal drugs and
enforcement of drug laws and a description of any drug or alcohol abuse
education programs.

(b) To formulate crime prevention programs for the implementation of the SSC;

(c) To coordinate with HEI/TVI administrators, deans, or other officials as the case
may be, in the maintenance of peace and order within the HEV/TVI premises;

(d) To recommend to the HEI/TVI the conduct of seminars or training on crime and
drug prevention and control in coordination with the National Police Commission


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(NAPOLCOM) regional office, local police station or the Department of the Interior
and Local Government (DILG);

(e) To conduct intensive information drive on the Safety and Security Strategy which
includes the semestral distribution of copies and orientation thereon; and

(f) To submit to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) or to the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), through their respective
regional offices, the composition of the SSC and its Safety and Security Strategy,
as well as its program of activities and projects for the academic year two (2) months
after finishing the second semester or trimester of the academic year.

SEC. 7. Approval and Review of the Safety and Security Strategy. ~The Safety and
Security Strategy, after approval by the Board of Trustees/Regents of the HEIs or the
owners/proprietors/administrators of the TVIs, shall be submitted to the CHED or the TESDA
and shall be subject to its review. If found unsatisfactory by the CHED or TESDA, taking into
consideration the circumstances of each HEI or TVI, it shall be returned to the Board or the
owners/proprietors/administrators for appropriate action: Provided, That pending its review,
the Plan shall be implemented by HEI or TVI concerned,

The Safety and Security Strategy shall be subject to review or reassessment by the
Board or the owners/proprietors/administrators as the case may be, either annually or as often
as required by the circumstances.

SEC. 8, Duties of the CHED Regional Offices and the TESDA Regional Offices, —
‘The CHED Regional Offices and the TESDA Regional Offices shall coordinate, supervise and
monitor the implementation of the Safety and Security Strategy, as approved, and projects of
SSCs, jointly with the NAPOLCOM in the region.

The CHED and the TESDA shall consolidate regional accomplishment reports as
required under Section 6 hereof, and shall submit them to the Office of the CHED Chairperson
and the Office of the TESDA Director General, respectively.

SEC. 9. Administrative Sanctions, — Any HEI or its Board of Trustees or Regents or
any TV1 or its owners/proprietors/administrators, and other officers/persons responsible for the
failure to comply with the provisions of this Act shall be subject to administrative sanctions to
be imposed by the CHED and the TESDA, respectively.

SEC. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~ Within ninety (90) days upon the
effectivity of this Act, the CHED and the TESDA, in coordination with the Department of
Education (DepEd), the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC),
the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), and the
Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU), shall issue the necessary rules and
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 11. Separability Clause. ~ If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional
or invalid, the other sections or provisions not otherwise affected shall continue to be in full
force and effect.

SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. ~ All laws, executive orders, decrees, instructions, rules
and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with any provision of this Act are hereby amended,
repealed or modified accordingly.


a
2 SEC. 12. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
3. in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation,

Approved,