Private schools tapped in anti-Red unit

Former ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio

MANILA, Philippines — Concerns were aired by groups after the government’s anticommunist task force, known for Red-tagging activists and various groups, recruited the organization of private schools, fearing this may lead to further surveillance to students, teachers and other education personnel.

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) over the weekend pointed out that including the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea) in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) threatens the essence of academic freedom and safety of students and teachers alike.

READ: CHEd, DOST in counterinsurgency task force: What to know

Former ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio described the recruitment of Cocopea as a “dangerous development” and urged the council to reconsider its decision to be a part of the task force.

Cocopea has around 1,500 of its member private schools nationwide and what worries Tinio was that the recruitment could lead to “increased surveillance, harassment and intimidation of students, teachers and school personnel.”

He recalled that NTF-Elcac has been involved in the “abduction, illegal detention and interrogation under duress” of two students in Bataan last year.

The NTF-Elcac, Tinio added, has had a track record of “baseless accusations and human rights violations” against students, teachers and other personnel of the Department of Education.

For him, this should be enough reason for Cocopea to reconsider their decision to associate themselves with the infamous task force.

“Educational institutions should be safe spaces for learning and critical thinking, not breeding grounds for fear and repression,” Tinio said.

The Inquirer has reached out to Cocopea managing director Joseph Estrada but has yet to receive a response as of press time.