‘Military attacks on schools unabated’

MANILA — School administrators of the besieged Lumad schools in Minda-nao are back in Manila to appeal to government agencies to stop the continuing military attacks in their schools, which, they said, violates the right to education of children of indigenous peoples (IP).

Although classes have resumed in the schools of the Salugpungan Ta’ Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center (STTI CLC) and the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc. (Misfi) Academy, soldiers and paramilitary men continue to harass students and teachers, the Save Our Schools (SOS) Network said in a press conference on Monday, July 6.

Ronnie Garcia, Basic Education Principal of STTICLC, said soldiers continue to roam the area, bran-ding teachers and the schools as “New Peoples’ Army (NPA) schools.”

Soldiers have threatened families who enrolled their children in the Lumad schools that they will be disqualified from the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program. Worse, Garcia said, IP leaders have reported that soldiers told them to kill the teachers of the school.

Benjamin Valbuena, national chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Tea-chers, a member of the SOS Network, lamented that soldiers involved violated civilian authority, provoking people to murder instead of being the protector of the people and the state.

Permit as tool of repression For years, Lumad organizations have established more schools in interior communities in Mindanao.

Since the STTICLC began operations in 2003, it has built 32 IP schools in Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao City and Compos-tela Valley. Their schools serve pre-school to high school students. The Misfi Academy has established 20 schools in four regions in Mindanao.

However, only 19 are operating, as a school in Ka-palong, Davao del Norte had closed due to intensified military attacks. Percinita Sanchez, executive director of Misfi, said that since its operation in 2005, they have been compliant in accomplishing and renewing its permit to keep the schools open. But even the issuance of government permits was used to hinder the schools’ operation.

Sanchez said this school year, they were required to get free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from the indigenous people’s communities, which the Indigenous People’s Rights Act require of companies before being allowed to start a project in the communities. The school was also required to get an endorsement from the provincial peace and order council and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

“It is the indigenous people’s organization who asked for the assistance of non-government organizations (NGO) so why should we ask and get their consent so we could operate? Clearly, the permit to operate is being used as a tool for repression against our schools,” said Sanchez.

Garcia said that ironically, that DepEd Order No. 21, or the Guidelines on the Recognition of Private Learning Institutions Serving Indigenous Peo-ples Learners, acknowledges the importance of NGO and community-led institutions in giving education. The Indigenous People Education office of the DepEd is even mandated to give technical assistance to such institutions.

Garcia said, renewing and acquiring their permits were not made easy and government agencies have in fact been using it to justify the closure of the STTICLC.

As of now, Garcia said, only 24 out of the 32 STTICLC schools were issued a permit to operate, but all 32 schools remain open.
Garcia said they had filed complaints before the United Nations, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has conducted its investigation last year. “We also filed a complaint before the Commission of Human Rights but no one from the commission has visited our place yet” he said. Bulatlat.com