Caloocan clamps down on Internet shops

MANILA, Philippines - The Caloocan City government reminded Internet shop owners yesterday of a Department of Education (DepEd) directive prohibiting students from entering their establishments during school hours.

Mayor Enrico Echiverri said DepEd officials coordinated with Internet shop owners and mall proprietors in the city, seeking their cooperation in restraining students from entering their shops when they should be in school.

“We will not hesitate to penalize Internet shop owners and mall administrators tolerating students disobeying (the directive),” Echiverri said.

The mayor said that Dep-Ed’s Order 86 series of 2010 instructs mall and Internet shop owners not to allow students to enter or loiter in their establishments during school hours to keep them from incurring absences.

Echiverri tasked Caloocan City schools district superintendent Corazon Gonzales to strictly monitor the shops’ compliance with the DepEd’s directives.

He also directed the City Hall’s Reformed Department Public Safety and Traffic Management (RDPSTM) personnel to help check students “who would try to break the rule” by skipping school only to play computers or loiter at the malls.