MANILA — The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) on Thursday told all universities and colleges to review their safety and security plan after a recent sexual assault incident at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

The plan should consider the actual safety and security situation in campuses, statistics on crimes, and where these happened, CHED Chairman Prospero De Vera said.

"Pagdating ng gabi, saan ang madidilim na portion, ano ang dapat na tahakin ng mga estudyante at faculty para hindi sila madedelikado at ano ang response kapag mayroong mangyari," De Vera said in a televised briefing.

(Where are the poorly lit areas? Which routes should students and the faculty take so that they could stay safe, and what is the response when something happens?)

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Video from PTV

The CHED chairperson noted that top universities abroad have mechanisms to respond to urgent matters concerning their students and personnel. Their safety plans are printed and included in the students' orientation, he added.

"Babasahin mo 'yan, ipapaliwanag, may communication plan, mayroong mga maliliit na telepono sa mga lugar na malalayo. Kapag pakiramdam mo hindi ka safe, tatawag ka [at] ipi-pick up ka ng awtoridad ng eskuwelahan," said De Vera.

(You will read that, explain the communication plan, there are numbers you can call for remote areas. If you feel that you are not safe, you can call school authorities and they will pick you up.)

"Ang ating mga pamantasan, parang hindi masyado sineseryoso ang security ng kanilang mga estudyante. So panahon na para seryosohin natin, i-review natin ang mga patakaran," he added.

(Our universities seem to be not taking the safety of their students seriously. It's time that we take that seriously and review our guidelines.)

He also encouraged higher education institutions to invest in technology and CCTV cameras in poorly lit areas, and create a mechanism to inform students where to go.

Safety and security plans must also go beyond responding to natural calamities, De Vera said.

"Kailangan ang safety and security, pang-araw araw, kahit na walang disaster, dapat ligtas at safe ang lahat ng nasa loob ng isang campus. Dapat safe spaces ang campus," he said.

(Safety and security should be an everyday concern, even if there are no disasters. Everyone should be safe. inside a campus. Campuses should be safe spaces.)

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"I hope this is a wake up call for our school authorities to treat the safety of their students and employees more seriously."

Over the weekend, a female student was sexually assaulted inside the UP Diliman campus, prompting the university to go on heightened alert.

Apart from medical assistance, the university has offered legal and psychological support to the victim.

The university is also reviving calls to install more security cameras in the campus.

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