Only 41 of Pagadian’s 81 public schools have working CCTV, DepEd tells council

Two weeks after the council asked whether Pagadian’s schools were prepared, the 48th Regular Session got its first answer in numbers. Of the city’s 81 public schools, DepEd said, only 41 have CCTV cameras that work.

• Sitting48th Regular Session
• DateSeptember 2, 2026
• PresidingCoun. Maphilindo Q. Obaob, Chairman Pro-Tempore
• Quorum10 at roll call
• Resolutions adopted15
• First reading1 draft ordinance

The audit

DepEd’s disaster-risk focal person, Teodora Ortiz, walked the council through a survey of all 81 public elementary, secondary and senior high schools in the city, conducted against DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2026.

Richel P. Reducto of the Schools Division Office said visitor entry had been tightened and more private security and job-order personnel hired. Those measures, he said, had already caught students carrying sharp objects and bullets. Saint Columban College reported 21 security guards for some 5,000 students.

Councilor Lance Samuel F. Co said the proper ratio is one guard for every 250 students. Ortiz said DepEd has no data on a required guard-to-student ratio. Councilor Bienvenido C. Culve, PTA president at Pagadian Junior College, offered a working model: the PTA there pays an allowance, coursed through the barangay, for off-duty tanods of Barangay Santo Niño to stand guard on rotation.

Presiding in the Vice Mayor’s absence, Councilor Obaob asked the division office for a list of schools lacking CCTV and fences, so the gaps can be weighed in the city’s 2027 budget. DepEd asked for more time to present, and the hearing was reset to September 9.

Paskuhan will close part of downtown

Draft Ordinance No. 046, sponsored by Councilor Co, cleared first reading. It would close to vehicles part of the western lane of F.S. Pajares Avenue, between V. Sagun and P. L. Urro streets, along with the sidewalk and parking area of P. L. Urro Street fronting the San Jose Parish Church. The closure would run from December 1, 2026 to January 18, 2027 for Paskuhan 2026 and the Pasalamat Festival 2027.

It now goes to the committees on transportation and on laws. Motorists and vendors in the city center should watch it closely.

Roads, canals and a sidewalk

Councilor Ariel J. Lim, Jr. described the condition of a road in Barangay Santa Lucia and the canal along New Tudela in Barangay San Pedro. Resolution No. 2026-0529 asks the Mayor to have the City Engineer inspect and repair both immediately.

To ease traffic congestion outside Our Lady of Triumph Institute of Technology in Balangasan, the council urged the school to manage parking (Res. No. 2026-0526). It also asked that the 2027 budget fund a sidewalk there (Res. No. 2026-0527).

A salute to a fallen officer

By acclamation, the council conferred a posthumous award of commendation on the late Police Major Aiman Khuzaimah P. Pantaran, Deputy Chief of Police of the Pagadian City Police Station, for “bravery, gallantry and relentless dedication to service above and beyond the call of duty” (Res. No. 2026-0528, authored by Councilor Obaob).

Also on the record

The council approved donating a motorized boat to the 53rd Infantry (Matapat) Battalion for seaborne patrols. It backed a DENR urban biodiversity program for the city and declared Barangay Santa Lucia’s 2026 budget operative. It also upheld three barangay ordinances: Dao’s ban on going half-naked in public places, and Bulatok’s digital governance system and its rules against false public-safety posts online.

On power and wages: the council noted ZAMSURECO-1’s joint application with Malita Power Inc. for an emergency power supply agreement (ERC Case No. 2026-114 RC) and ordered its hearing notice posted. It filed a concern on minimum-wage compliance after finding that wage-setting belongs to the regional wage board.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Pagadian

File photos: video stills from the official session recordings of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Pagadian City (49th and 50th Regular Sessions, September 2026).

Every decision on the record

Source: Official minutes of the 48th Regular Session of the 15th City Council, Sangguniang Panlungsod of Pagadian City, September 2, 2026. Figures, names and measure numbers are taken from the minutes as written. Photo: file image from the official session recording of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Pagadian City.