The Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) and the Bacolod Traffic and Transport Management Department (BTTMD) have intensified preparations to ensure a safe and secure opening of classes on Monday, June 16.
Capt. Ma. Liberty Indiape, BCPO public information officer, said on Friday that all 10 police stations have been ordered to secure the schools located in their respective areas of coverage.
“We will deploy beat patrollers in every school. Mobile patrol units will also go around the areas where schools are located,” she said.
Police officers will monitor and secure learners and teachers from the start of the classes in the morning until the dismissal in the afternoon, Indiape said.
Meanwhile, Jose Antonio Robello, deputy head of BTTMD, advised parents and guardians to leave early to allow extra time for travel as heavy congestion is expected around major schools.
“Carpool when possible. This reduces the number of vehicles and eases congestion,” he said.
He advised Bacolodnons to find alternate routes and familiarize themselves with backroads to avoid traffic jams in the city’s two major thoroughfares, as well as to follow school-assigned drop-off and pick-up areas to prevent roadside chaos.
Robello also asked drivers to respect one-way traffic rules and instructions from traffic enforcers as many roads around schools are temporarily designated one-way for the start of classes.
To ensure safety of schoolchildren, he encouraged adults to teach children to use sidewalks and pedestrian lanes, especially on busy roads, as well as to cross only at designated crosswalks. *PNA