The Laoag City government is strengthening security in public schools by deploying handheld metal detectors, improving traffic management, and enhancing coordination among education officials, law enforcement agencies, and local communities.

During a recent school safety meeting, city officials announced that each public school in Laoag City will receive two handheld metal detectors to help prevent deadly weapons from being brought onto school premises.

The city government is also studying the implementation of school-specific traffic schemes to improve the safety of students, parents, and visitors while easing congestion during peak hours.

Proposed measures include infrastructure improvements, the removal of illegally parked vehicles and ambulant vendors that contribute to traffic congestion near schools, and increased deployment of personnel from the Philippine National Police, the city's Traffic Division, and barangay tanods to enforce traffic regulations.

Meanwhile, the Schools Division Office (SDO) of Laoag, the Philippine National Police, the city government, and barangay officials have been tasked with developing unified protocols for responding to incidents of school violence.

The SDO-Laoag also proposed orienting barangay tanods on the Child Protection Policy and training them on existing school security protocols to ensure a faster and more coordinated emergency response.

Barangay officials, meanwhile, urged the SDO-Laoag to hold meetings with Parent-Teacher Associations in all schools to strengthen cooperation among parents, school officials, and local government units in promoting student safety and welfare.