‘PNoy failed the lumads in Caraga’

By BEN SERRANO,
Correspondent

BUTUAN CITY — The Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (Karapatan), Alliance of Concerned Teachers (Act), Kilusan ng mga Magbubu-kid Sa Pilipinas (KMP), Un-yon ng mga Magsasaka sa Agusan del Norte (Uman), and tribal groups Kasalo and Mapasu condemned the Aquino government for the wanton human rights violations and abuses including impunity killings by paramilitary groups against  indigenous people.

Liza Burias, Act regional chairperson for Caraga, said the failure of the government in providing schools in almost all tribal villages, clearly showed the disregard of the national government in the education of lumad children not only in Caraga Region but in other parts of the island.

“For that we will grade the Aquino administration in providing basic education for lumads and violation of human rights a failing grade of 60%—mas mababa pa sa pasang awa,” Burias said.

A master teacher in one of the biggest public school in the region, Burias said it is the prime duty and responsibility of the state to provide free basic education for all. But in the case of thousands of lumad children, “there is total absence of effort to provide even simple classrooms for lu-mads in areas accessible to them thus they have to walk for hours from their homes to reach schools and worst they become victims of bullying if mixed with other children especially non-lumads.”

Burias added that in her 22 years of teaching––having assigned in one of the public school located in near tribal communities––the situation remained the same and even gone from bad to worse for lumad school children to have access to basic education.

“The worsening peace and order situation due to skirmishes of government troops and the combatants of the New People Army (NPA forced the majority of lumad school children to flee homes because they are afraid to be caught in the crossfire,” said Burias.

Burias cited the situation of hundreds of lumad school children now still staying at evacuation center in Tandag City after they fled their homes last September 1. The tribal community were forced to evacuate after the brutal killings of Alcadev school director Emerico Samarca, and two other lumad leaders.

“Including the burning of Alcadev school in Padiay, Sibagat, Agusan del Sur last November 16 because they suspected that Alcadev school is an NPA school which is not true as I have observed the class sessions many times nothing has been taught to lumad children on communist ideologies only agriculture and sustaining health subjects using indigenous medicines available in the area,” Burias said.

The new Alcadev school director and  Save Our Schools (SOS) regional chairperson for Caraga Maricris Pagaran said some 5,000 Abaca and other tree seedlings in Padi-ay Alcadev school which are supposedly to be distributed to the tribal villagers as their alternative livelihood in Padi-ay were also burned by still unidentified suspects.

Pagaran denied allegations by military and police reports that the Alcadev school in Padi-ay was abandoned saying the school children and teachers left the school only last September 1 after the murder of Samarca.

Pagaran said they could have fulfilled the requirements for a permit to operate the tribal schools in the region had the local personnel of the Department of Education not given them the run around.

“It seems pinapahirapan talaga kami, to the point that we have to keep coming back at the DepEd regional office only to end up with nothing in acquiring permits, ” Pagaran complained.

Pagaran also said it has been 100 days now since the murder of Samarca and two lumad leaders but the prime suspects in the killings have not been arrested.

“Pero kung kami madali silang mag isyu ng warrants of arrests at ipahuli kaagad automatic like what happened to lumad group Kasalo regional chairman Genasque Enriquez due to some trumped-up charges,” decried Pagaran.