Lumad schools got the support of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago

Miriam wants probe on closure of Davao del Norte lumad schools
By: Ernie Reyes
June 17, 2015
InterAksyon.com

MANILA, Philippines -- Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago has asked colleagues to investigate reports that schools set up for “lumad” (indigenous people) in the hinterlands of Davao del Norte, a move that will affect some 3,000 students from tribal communities.

Santiago said the closing of the schools as well as reported plans to field soldiers as “para-teachers” to the lumad communities would violate the Constitution as she proposed the idea of declaring schools all over the country peace zones.

“Recent events lend urgency to the need for an investigation, through which the Senate may contemplate legislation declaring schools all over the country as peace zones,” Santiago said in Proposed Senate Resolution No. 1392.

She cited Sections 5 and 5 of Article 2 of the Constitution.

Section 5 provides: "The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy."

Section 17, on the other hand, says: "The State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development."

Santiago’s resolution cited that the closure of the lumad schools and the deployment of the “para-teachers” was supported by the Department of Education’s schools division in Davao del Norte as well as accusations by human rights group Karapatan and the Save Our Schools Network that education officials colluded with the military in shutting down the education centers.

The senator noted that the two groups claim to have documented operations by the Davao del Norte-based 60th and 68th Infantry Battalions that have affected some 4,309 students and 41 teachers in the first five months of this year alone.

However, she also noted that “the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) alleged that it has yet to receive documentary evidence of such incidents.”

Santiago also recalled that in December last year, a resolution had also been filed seeking in inquiry into the need to bar armed groups from entering school grounds.