Thousands of university students filled the Negros Oriental State University Gymnasium in Dumaguete City on May 14, 2026, for a wide-ranging awareness forum jointly organized by the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office (NOrPPO) and several government partner agencies. The large-scale event covered three pressing public safety themes — illegal drug prevention, responsible road use, and anti-terrorism vigilance — reaching an estimated 4,000 enrolled students in a single organized session.
Massive Student Turnout at NORSU Gymnasium
The NORSU Gymnasium, situated within the state university’s main campus in Dumaguete City, served as the venue for one of the province’s largest student-focused law enforcement awareness gatherings in recent memory. According to NOrPPO’s official statement, approximately 4,000 students attended and actively engaged in structured lectures delivered by police officers and representatives from partner agencies throughout the day.
The Police Community Affairs and Development Unit (PCADU) of NOrPPO handled the ground-level coordination and facilitation of the event, working closely with the NORSU administration to mobilize the student body and ensure that venue arrangements were in place for the large gathering.
PMAJ Elpidio R. Tago-an Jr., identified as Chief of the PCADU, led the operational organization of the activity alongside the unit’s personnel. The scale of the turnout reflects the coordinated outreach capacity of the PCADU, which is the NOrPPO sub-unit specifically mandated to develop and implement community-oriented policing programs across Negros Oriental.
Provincial Police Leadership Heads the Campaign
NOrPPO Provincial Director PCOL Timmar J. Alam led the campaign, according to the office’s official statement. He was joined by PLTCOL Ronoel G. Fungo, who serves as Deputy Provincial Director for Administration, and by PMAJ Tago-an, whose PCADU unit was directly responsible for implementing the event’s program on the ground.
The campaign was framed by NOrPPO as a concrete expression of the Philippine National Police’s current national service commitment, encapsulated by the PNP’s official slogan: “Bagong PNP para sa Bagong Pilipinas: Serbisyong Mabilis, Tapat at Nararamdaman.” The office described the day’s activity as part of a sustained effort to empower young Filipinos through proactive education and awareness initiatives aimed at building safer and more resilient communities.
Three Partner Agencies Represented at the Event
Three government institutions formally participated in the May 14 forum alongside NOrPPO. NORSU was represented by Mr. Julio E. Ventoro, the university’s Director of Student Affairs, NSTP Director, and Security Officer — a role that placed the institution in an active facilitative and endorsing capacity for its own enrolled students.
The Land Transportation Office for the Negros Island Region (LTO NIR) also took part, with Ms. Jennifer S. Bonite, Interim Chief of the Operations Division of LTO NIR, representing the agency. Her participation centered on the road safety component of the forum, covering topics relevant to student commuters and young Filipinos approaching driving age, according to the NOrPPO statement.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was likewise represented by IO Grace L. Marinduque, identified as the agency’s Chief Administrative Officer, who participated in the anti-illegal drugs segment. PDEA’s involvement introduced an enforcement and regulatory dimension to what was primarily an educational program, reinforcing the factual and legal aspects of anti-drug messaging delivered to the student audience.
Anti-Drug Lectures Centered on Youth Awareness
The anti-illegal drugs portion of the forum was coordinated with PDEA and formed one of the program’s central pillars. According to NOrPPO, lectures covered the physiological, psychological, and social consequences of drug use, consistent with the national drug prevention framework under which government agencies conduct youth outreach activities.
The PCADU unit has been conducting similar awareness activities in schools and communities across Negros Oriental as part of its community engagement mandate, the NOrPPO statement noted. The May 14 session at NORSU is described as among the unit’s more substantial efforts specifically targeting the university-age demographic — a population group that law enforcement agencies have consistently identified as a priority audience for drug prevention programming.
Early awareness and education are recognized by law enforcement as critical factors in deterring substance abuse before it becomes embedded behavior, particularly among young people who are at formative stages of decision-making.
LTO NIR Leads Road Safety Discussion
The road safety component, facilitated with the involvement of LTO NIR, addressed the practical realities facing young Filipinos who regularly use public roads — whether as pedestrians, commuters, or prospective drivers. The segment covered adherence to traffic regulations, the dangers associated with distracted and impaired driving, and responsible pedestrian conduct.
LTO NIR’s participation also served an informational function, according to NOrPPO’s statement, with the agency providing students with authoritative guidance on licensing requirements, the legal responsibilities of road users, and the consequences of traffic law violations. These concerns are particularly relevant in urban road environments like Dumaguete City, as well as along the broader road network across Negros Oriental.
Anti-Terrorism Segment Promotes Vigilance Among Students
The third major component of the May 14 forum dealt with anti-terrorism awareness and vigilance against violent extremism. This topic has become an increasingly standard element of community-oriented police engagement programs across the Philippines, particularly within national internal security frameworks.
The lectures were structured to help students identify early warning signs of radicalization, understand the legal parameters of the country’s anti-terrorism laws, and know the proper channels for reporting suspicious activities to the appropriate authorities. NOrPPO’s decision to include this topic in a university-level forum reflects the national directive to integrate community-based early warning programs into civilian education initiatives, aligned with the government’s Comprehensive National Counterterrorism Plan.
PCADU Mandate Centers on Police-Community Relations
The PCADU, which drove the organization of this event, is the NOrPPO unit specifically tasked with building and maintaining constructive relationships between law enforcement and the communities of Negros Oriental. Its programming scope spans outreach to schools, barangays, and civil society organizations throughout the province.
According to NOrPPO, PCADU-led efforts such as the NORSU forum are part of a wider provincial strategy to foster trust between the police and the public — a priority that has taken on renewed urgency under the PNP’s current national leadership direction. The partnership with NORSU, one of the largest state universities in the province, allowed NOrPPO to reach a sizable, educationally significant portion of the province’s youth population through a single coordinated activity.
NOrPPO described the event in its official statement as a reaffirmation of its commitment — together with its partner agencies — to “empowering the youth through proactive education and awareness programs geared towards building a safe, drug-free, peaceful, and resilient community,” a vision that the office said underlies all its community engagement programming.
No announcement has been made by NOrPPO regarding additional awareness campaign sessions of similar scale planned for other institutions in the province in the near term.
Originally reported by: breakingnewsnegrosoriental.com
