The opening of classes for School Year 2026-2027 was generally peaceful and orderly across the country, the Philippine National Police said, as it vowed to sustain preventive security measures in school zones nationwide.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. commended police commanders, personnel, partner agencies, and force multipliers for helping secure more than 26 million learners and over 45,000 public schools during the first day of classes.
“I commend all our personnel and all our partners in this particular endeavor. The safe, peaceful and orderly opening of classes would not have been a success without the cooperation and the proper coordination with other agencies and stakeholders,” Nartatez said.
Under Oplan Balik-Eskwela, the PNP said more than 55,000 security personnel and force multipliers were mobilized for school safety operations. These included 28,751 PNP personnel, 4,079 personnel from other units, and 22,677 force multipliers from partner agencies and community organizations.
The PNP also set up 9,319 Police Assistance Desks in campuses and clustered schools, while 9,525 mobile patrol units were deployed to strengthen police visibility and response capability near school areas.
Nartatez said police personnel, supported by force multipliers down to the barangay level, were deployed in coordination with the Department of Education, local government units, and other concerned agencies.
He said commanders were instructed to closely monitor their areas of responsibility and adjust security deployments when necessary.
“Our personnel on the ground know what to do in the many incidents that may arise. Everything was carefully and properly coordinated and planned with other government agencies,” Nartatez said.
The PNP chief also ordered police commanders to keep heightened security measures in place throughout the week and ensure that schools remain covered by regular police visibility and beat patrol operations.
Nartatez said the school security deployment would not affect the PNP’s broader law enforcement duties.
“Our goal is to make our police forces visible and reliable in responding to all calls for assistance in order to make the people feel safe on the streets, in the community and in their homes at all times,” he said.
The PNP said it will continue coordinating with DepEd and local government units to help ensure the safety of students, parents, teachers, and school personnel.