THE HOUSE Committee on Higher and Technical Education has created a Technical Working Group to finalize measures seeking to create a Crime Prevention Committee for all higher education institutions (HEI) and technical-vocational institutions (TVI).

The panel head Baguio City Rep. Mark Go said the TWG will consolidate House Bills 4710 and 6639 aiming to protect the academic community from internal and external threats.

HBs 4710 and 6639 are authored by Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, respectively.

The solons stressed that students and their parents should always feel safe and are entitled to have a safe and secure environment when pursuing their studies.

They also added that it is the duty of the State and the different educational institutions to ensure that their students and everyone on their campuses are always safe.

Based on the measure, a crime prevention committee 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.