MANILA, Philippines – Nabahala ang mga aktibista sa pinasok na partnership ng Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations of the Philippines at National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
Sa pahayag nitong Sabado, Nobyembre 9, sinabi ng ACT Teachers Party-List na ang naturang hakbang, na kabilang ang planong “information campaigns” sa mga paaralan, “poses serious threats to academic freedom” at maglalagay sa panganib sa mga estudyante at guro.
“We strongly urge COCOPEA to reconsider its involvement with NTF-ELCAC and follow the example set by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in distancing itself from this agency,” ayon kay dating ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, na first nominee ng party list.
Ang COCOPEA ay umbrella organization na binubuo ng 1,500 pribadong paaralan na layong protektahan ang academic freedom, quality education, at holistic interests ng higher educational institutions (HEIs).
“This is a dangerous development that follows the same playbook of red-tagging promoted by the NTF-ELCAC. It is now trying to legitimize its witch-hunting operations by co-opting private educational institutions through COCOPEA,” ani Tinio.
Nagbabala rin ang Kabataan Party-List na ang pagpayag sa NTF-ELCAC sa mga pribadong paaralan ay magdudulot ng “repression” ng critical thought at free expression.
“Given NTF-ELCAC’s history of red-tagging, will critical students opposing tuition and other school fee increase, no-permit-no-exam rules, and other repressive policies be further endangered?” giit ni Kabataan spokesperson Renee Louise Co.
Sa hiwalay na pahayag, sinabi rin ng youth activist group Anakbayan na ang hakbang ay “deeply irresponsible and threatens to create a culture of intimidation in spaces that should be avenues for critical thinking, open dialogue, learning, and free expression.”
Ani Anakbayan deputy spokesperson Mhing Gomez, ang COCOPEA ay dapat na “immediately retract its membership in the NTF-ELCAC and safeguard private schools from fascist state interference.”
Sinabi naman ng artist group na Panday Sining sa hiwalay na pahayag na “student organizations in private universities have not been consulted” on COCOPEA’s affiliation with NTF-ELCAC, which it said made it a “blatant disregard [of] students’ rights.”
Kung maaalala, palaging tinatawag ng NTF-ELCAC ang ACT Teachers Party-List at iba pang mga partylist ng Makabayan bloc, at activist groups gaya ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Gabriela at Anakbayan, at iba pang civil society organizations bilang “communist fronts”
Ani Tinio, ang “track record of baseless accusations and human rights violations, including against students, teachers, and education sector workers, should be enough reason for any educational institution to reject such association.”
Nitong Biyernes, Nobyembre 8, sinabi ni NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. na inaprubahan na ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang membership ng COCOPEA sa task force, at sinabing “is not only for students but for Filipinos to exercise their right to an informed choice.”
Tugon ni Tinio sa sinasabi ni Torres na ang “red-tagging” ay “legally inexistent,” sinabi nito na mismong ang Korte Suprema na ang naglista ng mga panganib na dala ng red-tagging.
“The Supreme Court itself has declared that red-tagging poses a threat to life, liberty, and security of its victims,” aniya.
“Educational institutions should be safe spaces for learning and critical thinking, not breeding grounds for fear and repression,” dagdag ni Tinio. RNT/JGC
