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MANILA, Philippines – The University of the Philippines Los Baños will look into securing the entry points in the campus used by nearby villages to ensure a crime-free and safe environment for students and the rest of the UPLB community.
The university administration made the announcement on Thursday, October 23, in the in light of the latest rape incident involving a UPLB student.
On the evening of October 25, a female student hailed a tricycle outside the campus to her dormitory. The driver brought instead near the IBP road and raped her. Residents came to her rescue after the incident.
The area is under the jurisdiction of UPLB and it is where another UPLB student was raped and killed 3 years earlier.
“Let this incident be a rallying call for all concerned authorities to ensure that every nook and cranny of Los Baños and neighboring communities is rid of potential offenders and criminals who prey on our students and the general public,” Chanellor Rex Victor Cruz said in the statement.
Ongoing cooperation
The university has been offering the Comprehensive Late Night Service and the Security Assistance Service, ferrying students and staff to their respective dormitories.
“Further, we have been strictly following a policy that holding of student activities should not go beyond 10 pm so that our students can go home early,” Cruz said.
He added that the university has always been working closely with the local government and the Philippine National Police in implementing measures to ensure the safety of all students even before the incident happened.
“We have established robust security measures including the deployment of security officers around the campus,” Cruz emphasized. “Our security personnel regularly patrol and monitor the whole campus to ensure that our students are safe.”
A total of 78 guards, 41 Community Service Brigade (CSB) members, and 42 university police are currently employed for the campus’ security.
‘Assault to the community’
In the statement, the UPLB administration condemned “in the strongest terms possible” the recent rape incident involving one of their students. It referred to the act as an “an assault on the peace-loving constituents” of the university.
The security situation in the Los Baños campus of the state university has been the subject of apprehension of students and residents. Some have said that the security measures only increase whenever criminal incidents happen, only to wane eventually. (READ: Rape suspect arrested, but UPLB community still doesn’t feel safe)
In 2011, student Given Grace Cebanico was raped and found dead near the area where the latest rape incident occured. The suspects, a tricycle driver and a security guard, are still undergoing trial. – Rappler.com
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