DepEd: School not liable for abduction

CEBU, Philippines - After the recent abduction of a girl from the Mambaling Elementary School, the Department of Education said that the school was not liable since classes had already been dismissed when it happened.

This according to DepEd Cebu City Schools Division superintendent Lorna Rances, it was the girl who went with the woman who took her, so she must have known her.

“Dili man to sayon dad-on daw ang bata kay mamaak gani kuno to ug kuyogon sa guard. She’s a smart kid, so kadto kaila gyud tingali ang bata niya,” she said.

While Rances said the school was found to be without fault, she reminded schools and also parents to be careful and make precautionary security measures.

Cebu City Acting Mayor Michael Rama advised DepEd not to wait for the resolution of the case, but to reimplement the ID system.

“The idea there is to have a secure system so it should be implemented to prevent another repetition,” Rama said, adding that he also directed CCPO to report to him the progress of the case.

The ID system for those who pick up the kids was practiced before but did not work for some schools, so the guard sees to it that those who get the children sign in their logbook.

Meanwhile, Sr. Insp. George Ylanan, chief of Investigation and Detective Management Branch, said that the case may not be a kidnapping as the suspect could be just a swindler working alone.

The IDMB chief said that there are already police personnel deployed outside the Mambaling Elementary School but their duty is to deter crimes in their area of responsibility.

He also recommended that the school to adopt the ID system. If the school cannot afford to hire a security guard, they can request a barangay tanod, he said.

Ylanan called on all parents to remind their children not to go with strangers. 

The girl, a niece of Cebu City Consultant on Muslim Affairs Sultan Naif Punut, was taken last Thursday but later found abandoned in a mall along Colon St. last Monday afternoon. – AJ de la Torre, Niña Chrismae G. Sumacot with Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)