ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines-?Teachers in Sulu and some parts of Western Mindanao will boycott the May 2010 elections if the government could not assure their security, especially in remote areas where armed men roam.

The teachers? fear, according to Abelardo Brutas Jr., worsened with the kidnapping and beheading of Gabriel Canizares, principal of Kanagi Elementary School in Patikul, Sulu.

Brutas, deputy secretary general of the Teachers Organization of the Philippines-Public Sector (TOPPS), said on Tuesday that the abduction of teachers has become alarming.

Since the start of the year, at least nine teachers had already been kidnapped in Sulu and other parts of Western Mindanao.

?If the government continues to ignore our call for comprehensive security plans for teachers regularly reporting in dangerous districts and island communities, then we have no choice but to boycott the 2010 elections,? he said.

More important

Hadji Eufremio Canaria, Sulu education supervisor, said the teachers had decided ?not to serve in the elections in remote areas or allow teachers to report in areas where security is very lax.?

?Service is important but in this situation, the lives of our teachers are more important,? Canaria said.

He said he already told local government officials about the plan and that the teaching community had expected an improvement in security plans.

Brutas and Canaria also said the order of President Macapagal-Arroyo for a manhunt for Canizares? killers came late.

Canaria said the manhunt was useless because it came after the principal?s death.

Community help

Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan said the local Crisis Management Committee would draw a comprehensive security plan for teachers serving in the province?s remote areas.

But he said the help of the community was also important to keep teachers out of harm?s way.

?All we need here is greater involvement and support of the community for the protection of our teachers,? he said.

Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno said he understood the sentiments of the teachers.

?Obviously some of our teachers may have felt that we let them down, but clearly, the safety of our teachers is our responsibility,? he said.

Defiant

Puno pledged to bring the local Crisis Management Committee and education officials together in a meeting ?to see how we can all coordinate to make sure that the elections can be properly held in spite of all these threats to their (teachers?) safety.?

?As long as there is no comprehensive [security plan] and concrete action for our teachers? safety, we are not going to serve, this despite the warning we got from Comelec Commissioner Jose Melo that we will lose our jobs,? Brutas said. Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao