Over 33,000 Philippine National Police (PNP) officers have been deployed to ensure the safety of students, school staff, and parents as classes begin anew across the nation on Monday, July 29.
"The PNP will deploy a total of 33,286 personnel to various schools throughout the country to ensure an orderly start to the academic year," the PNP said.
At a press briefing at Camp Crame, PNP Spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said search, rescue, and retrieval operations, as well as assistance in debris clearing and relief operations are still ongoing.
On top of this, they were instructed by PNP Chief PGen. Rommel Francisco Marbil to conduct patrols at schools and monitor places frequented by students, wherein they are to erect assistance desks.
"Ngayong Lunes ang start po ng mga eskwela po diyan. Ang instruction po ng ating chief PNP to make sure 'yung mga identified po natin na lugar na pinupuntahan po ng ating mga guro, ating mga estudyante, ay mabantayan po," Fajardo stated.
("The start of schools is this Monday. The instruction of our Chief is to make sure the places we have identified in which teachers and students frequent are guarded.")
Only on Monday last week, July 22, 22,000 officers were spread all over Metro Manila for the President's much-anticipated third State of the Nation Address (SONA). Merely two days later, on July 24, the southwest monsoon, heightened by Typhoon Carina, hit the country.
