UP Diliman mobilizes security units for missing freshman

MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman deployed its security units to help find leads to the missing freshman student.

After confirming that engineering student Ian Jasper Calalang has been missing since January 12 when he was supposed to enroll for the second semester, the university administration said local authorities have been tapped to hasten the search for Calalang.

“The UP Diliman administration has mobilized all its security units to look for Ian: the UP Police, Special Services Brigade, and agency-hired security guards. We have also coordinated with Barangay UP Diliman and the Quezon City Police Department to try to locate Ian, but have found no leads," the UP Diliman administration said in a statement.

The family and friends of Calalang earlier sought for the public’s help through social media to obtain any information on the whereabouts of the missing student but it still yielded negative results.

READ: Family asks help in finding missing UP Diliman student

Calalang, a 5’4” tall young man of 18 years, left his residence in Cainta, Rizal carrying cash for his enrollment on January 12. He was wearing a white shirt, black denim pants and white shoes when he left home.

His parents said the UP student sent a message informing them that he reached the university around 8:22 a.m. of that day but that was their last communication with him.

Since January 12, Calalang’s kin have not heard of him and his phone cannot be contacted.

The UP administration informed the family that Calalang was not able to enroll. It said they helped parents to review the closed-circuit television footage to find details on the disappearance of Calalang.

“We have helped the parents to review CCTV footage from the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Letters, where main enrollment activities are, but again have not been able to find any leads,” the administration said.

The university again appealed for the public’s help to find clues on Calalang’s whereabouts.

“We have not issued any official statements or granted interviews with the media because we wanted to respect the privacy of the parents. We agree with them that we now need the help of the public to find leads,” the UP administration said.

“Anyone with information that might help locate Ian can call Atty. John Baroña, UP Diliman Chief Security Officer, at 981-8512 (landline) or 0917-8614694 (mobile).  All calls will be treated with confidentiality,” it said.