Sen. Leila de Lima. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Opposition Senator Leila de Lima is seeking a Senate investigation into the closure of 55 schools for indigenous children in Mindanao, which she said, denied the children’s access to education.
Earlier this month, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued an order suspending the permit to operate of 55 schools in the Davao region for allegedly teaching “left-leaning ideologies.”
READ: DepEd shuts down 55 ‘lumad’ schools
READ: DepEd heeds Esperon report, suspends 55 ‘lumad’ schools
De Lima, who chairs the Senate committee on social justice, welfare, and rural development, recently filed Senate Resolution No. 34 which called for an investigation into the Lumad schools’ closure to ensure no rights are violated.
“There is need to ensure that the lumad children are not deprived of their right to education because of the ongoing efforts of the government against the New People’s Army,” the senator said in a statement.
“There is need to isolate the culture-appropriate education of the lumad from the so-called ‘red-tagging’ of the government in order to avoid violating their constitutionally protected rights,” she added.
De Lima said the DepEd’s closure order was merely based on a report made by National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. claiming that the lessons at the schools were “not in accordance with the guidelines set forth by DepEd.”
Meanwhile, Education Secretary Leonor Briones had claimed that none of the 55 suspended schools were given permits to operate last year because they could not comply with the DepEd requirements.
“The allegations of not having valid and subsisting permits only came after the schools were suspended following National Security Secretary Hermogenes Esperon’s report,” the senator said.
The senator also emphasized the mandate of the DepEd to ensure that the access to education of the Lumad children, especially those residing in remote areas, are not prejudiced by the suspension order. /jpv