Unsung heroes: DLSU’s security personnel

Stories of DLSU students falling victim to different modi operandi within and near campus are not uncommon. Reports of theft, robbery, and violence are passed around in circles as students are warned to be more vigilant and to practice more caution. In such cases, students usually turn to the University Security and Safety Office (SSO) to ask for help in retrieving their stolen items, apprehending suspects, or reporting the incident, at the very least.

However, DLSU security personnel have not only served students who had experienced these incidents within the walls of the University. Security officers have, on several occasions, gone beyond their mandate by extending their services to students and outsiders falling victim to such incidents, even beyond the limits of the school’s premises.

Service beyond La Salle’s walls 

*Bob recounts that on the evening of May 11, a Monday, he was able to catch a glimpse of a man who became an unsuspecting victim of theft. The man’s bag was snatched while he was standing outside of Jollibee. The thief darted away from the area towards Castro Street and the victim ran to chase him, catching the attention of DLSU security officers stationed nearby.

When the thief fled the scene and ran across the street, heading towards the other side of the road where Br. Andrew Gonzalez Hall is located, DLSU security officers stationed in Andrew were quick to take notice of the scene and started to run after the thief as well.

Three days later, on Thursday, May 14, *Tom was strolling along SJ Walk in between his classes when he found DLSU security personnel escorting a handcuffed man right outside of the SSO. The victim had apparently chased after the snatcher along Taft Avenue, leading SSO personnel to assist in the apprehension of the thief.

SSO Secretary Maria Cecilia Renee Moreno explains that their office is unable to disclose the names of the victim and the suspect but clarifies that both parties are not from DLSU. According to Moreno, the victim, a woman, alighted from the LRT Quirino Station when the snatcher took her bag with force.

The snatcher was not detained inside the University but was taken inside the campus to be interviewed by the SSO before the barangay officials arrived. However, Moreno describes that the stolen items were not recovered since the snatcher had most likely passed them on to an accomplice before he was apprehended by security personnel.

In both cases, the victims were not affiliated with DLSU, but SSO personnel aided in the detention of the perpetrators. It can be recalled that on the same week, on May 13, a student eating at a fast food restaurant near DLSU who fell victim to theft was also aided by the SSO in obtaining a copy of the security footage in the area, as well as filing the police blotter.

In retrospect

In June 2013, DLSU received criticism after news broke out about a pedicab driver allegedly being denied entry into the University even when it was clear he needed immediate medical attention given his heart condition.

Although that was the case, DLSU security guards were commended on social media for going beyond their call of duty. They were reported to have administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the scene, despite reportedly not being allowed by higher-ups to have the man checked in the University clinic.

The LaSallian has reached out to the SSO Director for a statement.

*Names were changed to protect anonymity of sources.

— with reports from Miguel Gayares & Josef Montinola