Nagpapasalamat ako kay Congressman Terry Ridon dahil sa kanyang pagiging boses ng mga lumad sa Mindanao. Sobrang tindi na talaga ng militarisasyon na nararanasan ng mga kapatid nating Manobo sa Talaingod. Dagdag pa dyan ang mga Manobo sa Kapalong na dinadahas na rin ng bandidong grupong Alamara na inaarmasan naman ng militar. Salamat at may mga natitira pang kinatawan sa Congress tulad ni Ridon na laging handang ipagtanggol ang mga inaapi ng estado.
Nagpapasalamat,
Che
Lawmaker blasts DepEd for backing closure of tribal schools, fielding of troops as teachers
By Interaksyon.comMay 30, 2015
Kabataan party-list Representative Terry Ridon, in a statement released Saturday, cited a May 12 letter from Davao del Norte schools superintendent Josephine Fadul to DepEd Region 11 diector Alberto Escobarte recommending the closure of the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanunon schools.
“Should this request for the closure of the said schools be granted, in its stead, this Division requests permission to implement the creation of a public high school in Butay, Talaingod utilizing military personnel as para-teachers as has been previously discussed and agreed upon during our meeting with the Regional Intelligence Committee at NEAP last 23 April 2015,” Fadul said in the letter.
Earlier, the Save our Schools Network raised the alarm over the impending closure of the learning centers amid allegations by Ata-Manobo leaders that the military had ordered them to burn the schools and kill the teachers for supposedly being communist rebel “fronts.”
Last year, hundreds of Ata-Manobo from Talaingod also fled their homes because of what they said was the militarization of their communities.
“Contrary to what Dr. Fadul claims, the tribal schools in Talaingod were built by missionaries and non-profit organizations to serve lumad children. These educational institutions are in fact the only schools that strive to provide education in these far-flung areas, areas long neglected by both the local and national government. Closing these schools mean closing opportunities for these children,” Ridon said.
As for recommending the deployment of military “para-teachers,” Ridon said this goes “against several resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and national laws which discourage -- if not prohibit --military entry in schools.”
The lawmaker also said another lumad school in Sitio Muling, Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong, also in Davao del Norte, would not open this school year because of alleged threats by the paramilitary “Alamara.”
Set up by the non-profit group Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc., Ridon said the school, “which can only be reached through a two-day walk,” is the only one that serves the remote area.
“We denounce these systematic attacks against tribal schools that only aim to extend education to lumad children. How can the Aquino administration sleep at night knowing that children in these remote areas are being deprived of basic education because of heavy militarization?” Ridon asked.
He also said the continued “militarization” of schools broke a promise made by Education Secretary Armin Luistro in December to take “concrete steps” to address the issue.
“Back in December, you promised to look into the issue of militarization of lumad schools. But look what’s happening now -- we even have a division superintendent who is recommending the construction of a military-run public school. It’s totally absurd!” Ridon told Luistro.
The youth representative said he is filing a resolution on Monday to investigate the militarization and closure of the tribal schools, which will include on onsite probe.
“We cannot investigate such grave reports in the comfort of the halls of the House of Representatives. For our legislators to grasp the gravity of the situation, we need to investigate these reports in the affected areas,” he said.
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