Cebu City open to transparent school bags, but only if students pay nothing extra

Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival is willing to require students to use transparent bags as part of tighter school security, but only if the measure does not force students or their families to spend more money. His chief of staff, Kenneth Siasar, made this clear during a press conference on Monday, August 25, as the city studies ways to prevent violence in schools.

Siasar said the city government is coordinating with school officials and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on security protocols following recent incidents involving students and minors. The discussion comes after a shooting in Barangay Basak prompted two Cebu City schools to suspend classes, and after the Tacloban shooting that led to transparent backpacks being distributed there.

What did the mayor's office say about transparent bags?

Speaking in Cebuano, Siasar relayed the mayor's position directly: “Kung walay cost involved on the part of the students, nga walay additional cost, nga kung kaya sa ilaha, kana, gisang-uyonan na sa atong Mayor.” In English, that means: if there is no cost involved for the students, no additional cost, and if they can afford it, the mayor has agreed to it.

This condition is crucial for many families across the Visayas, where school supplies already stretch tight household budgets. The city has not yet imposed any mandatory transparent-bag rule, and Siasar stressed that officials must first study the legal and practical side of inspecting students' personal belongings.

Why is the city studying security measures first?

Siasar acknowledged the legal limits of what schools can do. “Kung tan-awon nato ang legality man gud, kay nato, we cannot touch man gud. Dili nato mahikap ba ang bag,” he said, meaning that authorities cannot simply touch or handle a student's bag without proper basis.

He pointed to metal detectors in shopping malls as an example of an accepted security measure. The city has already started deploying metal detectors in schools following the Tacloban incident. A transparent bag, Siasar explained, would allow school personnel to see the contents without ever opening it. “Kung transparent siya, makita na gyud sa gawas nato tanan,” he said, or: if it is transparent, we can already see everything from the outside.

The city is also assessing areas outside school campuses, especially places where students gather after class. Officials plan to ask the PNP for a security template that schools can adapt to their own needs.

What is the national context for this school safety debate?

The Cebu City discussion mirrors a national push by the Department of Education (DepEd) to strengthen school security. DepEd had scheduled a nationwide Simultaneous School Safety Drill for Active Attack Incidents on August 25, but postponed it to the first week of September due to bad weather and suspended face-to-face classes in several areas.

DepEd said the rescheduled drill will remain age-appropriate and trauma-informed, and that schools must avoid hyper-realistic or graphic simulations that could cause unnecessary fear.

The postponement came after the Philippine Psychiatric Association (PPA) and the Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (PSCAP) called for the deferral of live-shooter simulations. Both groups warned that hyper-realistic exercises could harm learners psychologically without clear proof that they improve safety outcomes.

Instead, the groups recommended preventive measures such as controlled entry points, perimeter security, and trauma-informed protocols. They also proposed tabletop exercises, where school staff discuss possible attack scenarios and responses without staging realistic violence.

What happens next in Cebu City?

For now, transparent bags remain an option, not a rule. The city will continue coordinating with schools and the PNP, and any decision will weigh both security and the financial burden on students. As Siasar put it, the schools have already tightened their own measures, but the city wants a policy that protects learners without punishing their families' wallets.

This is a story we will keep following here at Archipelago Times, because what happens in Cebu classrooms often sets the tone for the rest of the country.