The Philippine National Police (PNP) stated on Friday that it will work with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to open lines of contact with school officials in advance of the resumption of face-to-face classes in selected universities and colleges around the country.
In light of the trial run of limited face-to-face lessons in select elementary and secondary schools last November 15, the commission is likely to issue a statement permitting higher education institutions (HEIs) to conduct limited physical classes.
“We will deploy our people outside the premises of these schools, once classes resume,” PNP chief, Gen. Dionardo Carlos said in a statement.
He also guaranteed local governments and health officials that the PNP would assist them in establishing basic public health requirements on school grounds.
He went on to say that when new campuses open physically, more students would be expected to attend classroom sessions.
Carlos warned students and parents to be on the lookout for persistent street criminal occurrences that occur around colleges and institutions.
Meanwhile, despite the recent relaxation of rules for the usage of face shields, Carlos encouraged the public to continue to adhere to baseline public health standards.
This followed a protest in Quezon City by citizens like actor Pen Medina, who questioned the government’s mask requirement and immunization efforts.
Medina was politely chastised by the police, who reminded her that wearing a face mask in public areas is still required by the Quezon City local government regardless of the quarantine alert level.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has granted local governments the authority to waive the necessity for face shields in regions with Alert Levels 1, 2, and 3. The use of face masks and physical separation is still required.
“As much as possible, our police personnel would like to maintain reasonable tact in calling the attention of any individual who violates public health protocol. But if anyone will blatantly disregards our request, he/she will be held responsible for violation of city ordinance or local executive order,” Carlos said.