CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Xavier University (XU)-Ateneo de Cagayan on Thursday, Sept. 1, temporarily switched to full online classes starting 4:30 p.m. until Sept. 9 due to alarming criminal cases here.
“Face-to-face/onsite sessions for these classes will resume based on the objective evaluation of the situation,” Juliet Dalagan, Xavier University Vice President for Higher Education, said in a memorandum on Thursday.
The XU Central Student Government (CSG) released a statement on Thursday calling on the city government and the city police to create a concrete plan to address criminality here.
“We condemn any act of violence that continues to threaten the safety and welfare of our fellow Kagay-anons,” it said.
“With the number of growing visible cases of crimes and violence in the city, the XU-CSG calls on the local government to release a steady and concrete plan as a response to these incidents.”
Some of the crimes cited by the XU-CSG were the murder and rape of a delivery rider and his minor girlfriend on Coastal Road in Barangay Lapasan on July 17, stabbing of a male parking attendant in front of XU, and the killing of a “habal-habal” (motorcycle taxi) driver at the back of the school on Aug. 31.
The Office of the City Mayor, in response, stressed that peace and order, specifically crime prevention, is on top of the governance agenda of Mayor Rolando Uy.
“It is unfortunate crimes happen. But these are isolated cases. Information from the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO) indicated a decrease in crime rates in the city to an “all-time-low,” Uy’s office added.
The city government, it said, is closely working with the police and other law enforcement agencies as part of their peace and order campaign.
Police Lt. Col. Surki Sereñas, COCPO deputy director for operations, had earlier said that there was no crime surge and that the weekly average of crime incidents has in fact dropped in the previous weeks.
“Further, we invite our fellow Kagay-anons to get the facts straight before making generalizations. Cagayan de Oro City is still a peaceful place,” Sereñas said.
The statement from the Office of the City Mayor added that Uy would be reaching out to the students to assure them that their security is of paramount importance.