Cebu town mayor to impose school phone ban; no ban in City yet

While the Municipality of Dumanjug, Cebu has yet to impose a total ban on cellular phones inside school premises, Cebu City officials said they are not considering a similar prohibition, instead opting to strengthen campus security.

Dumanjug Mayor Efren Guntrano “Gungun” Gica ordered a total cellphone ban in public schools supposedly starting June 29 to enhance learning outcomes by encouraging students to spend more time reading, studying, and interacting with others in person.

However, this was postponed to August to allow students, parents, and school personnel sufficient time to adjust, according to the mayor’s advisory released on Monday night, June 29.

Cellphones will still be confiscated, and will be returned after class by the student’s parent or guardian.

In addition, The Department of Education (DepEd) Cebu Province on Monday has not yet received the official executive order concerning Dumanjug’s proposed “No Inspection, No Entry” policy and the ban on cellphones in schools.

“The Schools Division Office has formally requested a copy of the pertinent Executive Order or official issuance for proper review and evaluation.”

Under the proposed directive, students are not allowed to bring mobile phones to school. Should be confiscated, phones will be returned at the end of the school year.

“Starting Monday (June 29), if a student brings a phone, it will be confiscated and only returned at the end of the school year,” Gica said in a Facebook post.

He also urged all school heads, district supervisors, and parents to support and strictly implement the order.

Instead of using mobile phones, the mayor said he wanted students to spend more time reading, paying attention in class, and interacting with their classmates.

“We want our kids to read, study, and interact with their classmates,” Gica said. 

He added, “at home, we expect parents to talk to their children, follow up on what they learned in school, and encourage healthy relationships between siblings and parents.”

Gica clarified that the cellphone ban was unrelated to the recent school shooting in Tacloban City, saying the inspections of students’ bags ordered after the incident were intended only to prevent deadly objects from being brought onto school campuses.

Cebu City’s condition

In Cebu City, however, officials said they have no plans to implement a cellphone ban for now.

Instead, the city government plans to install handheld metal detectors in public schools and tighten security protocols against possible threats.

The council also intends to gather psychologists, psychometricians, guidance counselors, and other mental health experts to create long-term intervention programs for schools.

City Mayor Nestor Archival acknowledged that many parents want their children to have mobile phones for emergencies like earthquakes and other disasters. 

He also noted that enforcing a cellphone ban would be more difficult in a highly urbanized city like Cebu with hundreds of schools than in smaller municipalities.

“The good thing about Dumanjug is that it does not have that many schools […]. In Cebu City, many parents want their children to have cellphones in case of emergencies,” Archival said to CDN Digital in Cebuano.

The mayor will continue to coordinate with the Cebu City Police Office, DepEd, the Commission on Higher Education, and the City Council’s committee on public safety chaired by Councilor Paul Labra.

The differing approaches came after local governments across the country reviewed school security protocols following the Tacloban City shooting that left several students dead and others injured.