Educators urge gov’t to tackle roots of insurgency

MANILA, Philippines — The government should focus on dealing with the roots of communist insurgency, such as poverty and marginalization, instead of Red-tagging educational institutions and endangering the security and welfare of teachers and students, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) said on Saturday.

In a statement, CEAP slammed Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. for repeatedly claiming that 18 higher educational institutions were hotbeds for communist recruitment and reiterated that Catholic schools do not support the beliefs of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).

“Our Catholic identity—enshrined in our values, vision, mission, goals, policy and practice—is directly in opposition to the beliefs of the CPP and NPA. It has been said before, and we affirm it once more: We do not support the CPP and NPA,” it said. INQ