Photo by Kat A. Mallillin

ATENEANS WILL see a new face in security this year, with Col. Jaime Gozon stepping in as the new Campus Safety and Security Officer.

Gozon thinks the community should keep its alertness against vulnerabilities. “The general impression for Ateneo is that it is safe and secure [because] there are many guards and there is coordination with the barangay and the police.”

“We should maintain it so that we can rely on them in times of need. [However,] we should expect the unexpected so we could avoid it,” he added.

Facilities Management Office Director Jose Arnulfo Batac admitted that the Ateneo has not had any formally trained security officials for several years.

“[Since] Col. Gozon came from the Philippine National Police, his competence would be a big help in how we manage security.”

Gozon assumed his post last February 22. He served as a law enforcement officer for 33 years and has bachelor’s degrees in criminology and peace and security studies.

Always prepared

Gozon was already retired when he got hired by the Ateneo. However, this does not mean that his competence has diminished.

“I’m always prepared because we have regular annual schoolings and seminars,” he said.

Gozon already started working for the university earlier this year. “That was the time when a lot of intrusions, theft and robbery [were] an issue so I reported earlier than expected.”

Batac said that Gozon had to adjust to the Ateneo environment in his first month. The latter went to the Ateneo Grade School, the Ateneo High School, the Loyola Schools, all auxiliary and affiliate units, and the barangay to talk with the officers concerned.

Gozon assessed the campus and raised concerns. “I examined all possible entries that people with motives can go into [and one of the things] I saw [were the] worn-out fences,” he said in Filipino. As a result, the campus perimeter was then strengthened for good measure.

He is also working on the security guards’ improved deployment. “The area of coverage per guard needs to be [made] specific so they can totally cover everything,” Gozon said in Filipino.

Prior to the opening of classes, Gozon would have also intensified the guards’ training in traffic management, moral value and first aid, customer service, crime prevention, report writing, intelligence gathering, and duties and responsibilities.

Total safety

According to Batac, once Gozon is familiar with the campus, regular operational requirements will come in. Examples of such are the need to supervise the guards, talk to them and conduct guard mounting. The latter is an activity where security personnel are given reminders and expectations for the day.

He added that traffic is also a security issue inside campus and is already included in the scope of Gozon’s job.

“Although he started talking to the barangay, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety, I think we still need to enhance our relationship with them so that traffic will be better managed not just within the campus, but along Katipunan as well,” Batac said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Gozon’s duties will eventually widen in the future. “As soon as he gets the hang of the load, we will orient him with the disaster response programs,” Batac said.

Batac added that Gozon would have to review the buildings on campus to make sure that the Ateneo is compliant with government safety requirements and regulations.

Coordination and alertness

Sanggunian President Gio Alejo hopes that Gozon would address the problem of theft. “There still seems to be a lack of coordination with the new security agency in terms of ensuring the security of some places here on campus and I hope he’ll be able to solve it.”

Alejo also thinks that Gozon should focus on the students’ security outside of campus. “I think the scope is more internal but if we can probably coordinate with the barangay officials to fix these kinds of problems, then that would be great,” he said.

Gozon said, “When there’s a specific threat outside, there is an immediately available response. But here, there is no real threat; we just have to make plans to avoid unusual happenings.”