ILOILO City – Police have intensified visibility and patrols around schools in La Paz district following an incident where a 10-year-old boy allegedly threatened a teacher with a pair of scissors near Iloilo National High School earlier this week
Police Captain Jeffrey Delgado, officer-in-charge of Iloilo City Police Station 2 (ICPS-2), said officers are now deployed regularly at strategic times to ensure the safety of students and educators.
“Our police personnel are regularly deployed in the area every Monday to Friday — from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., 11 a.m. to 12 noon, and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.,” Delgado said. “They were there shortly before the incident, but it happened just about five minutes after the officers left to respond to another commotion in Barangay Nabitasan.”
Initial police investigation and security camera footage from a nearby establishment, however, showed no conclusive evidence that the child had brandished a weapon.
“The CCTV footage showed the teacher and the boy interacting, but it was unclear what the child was holding,” Delgado noted. “There was no footage confirming that he actually pointed scissors at the teacher.”
The 24-year-old teacher, from Sta. Barbara, Iloilo, recounted that the boy — reportedly from Jaro district and part of a group of street children — asked him for money before allegedly demanding his cellphone password.
When he refused, the boy purportedly said, “Te kung hold-apon ta ka bi?” (“What if I rob you?”), then appeared to pull out scissors
The teacher’s social media post about the ordeal quickly went viral, sparking public concern about safety near schools and the growing number of unsupervised minors on city streets.
The Women and Children Protection Desk of ICPS-2 is now tracing the boy’s whereabouts to determine his identity and background.
Iloilo City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) head Theresa Gelogo said their initial assessment indicates the child may come from a dysfunctional family.
“We are now locating the child to provide the necessary intervention,” Gelogo said. “We also want to talk to his guardian to assess his physical and psychological condition.”
Gelogo added that intervention can only follow once the boy’s situation is fully evaluated.
“We need to understand the child’s situation first before giving any intervention,” she stressed.
The incident, described by residents as “super alarming,” prompted tighter coordination between law enforcement and social welfare agencies to protect both students and teachers around school zones.
Captain Delgado assured that the heightened police visibility will continue.
“We understand the concern of teachers and parents. Our visibility in schools will continue, especially during peak hours,” he said.
He also urged the public to report any suspicious activities involving minors or street dwellers near schools.
“Incidents like this remind us that safety is a shared responsibility,” Delgado said. “We will continue to protect our schools, but we also need the community’s cooperation to keep our children safe — both in and out of school.”/PN
