THE Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), in partnership with Education International, launches Teachers’ CHALK, a teacher’ defense system against state attacks.
Teachers’ CHALK or Complaint Hotline and Legal Kiosk is a hotline for teacher-victims of state violence and aims to encourage the public to support the teachers’ efforts to defend their ranks through social media campaign, rights education, legal defense, quick reaction mass activities among other forms.
The fascist state has launched incessant and intensifying attacks on the education sector in recent months. From the profiling of public and private school teacher-members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers in the beginning of the year to the downright harassment and intimidation of members, these affronts to teachers’ rights have caused a chilling effect on our already downtrodden education workers, but have as well inspired the coming together of educators and advocates to advance the struggles of and defend teachers.
In the last few weeks, these attacks have taken on a more brazen and dangerous form — our leaders have been subject to terrorist-tagging, death threats, and extortion.
The regime has also launched a concerted suppression crusade against critics in the guise of an anti-terror campaign, where it tags progressive groups as “communist fronts.”
In a desperate bid to silence dissent and the ever-growing unrest among the people, the government instigated the slander and delegitimization of progressive people’s organizations by conjuring up fake “surrenderees” to testify on the supposed links of groups like the Alliance of Concerned Teachers to state-tagged terrorist groups.
Such is further exemplified by the Philippine National Police (PNP) who, along with its continuing attempts to gather lists of ACT members in schools, have been writing to school heads to invite teachers, staff, and students to join the “Kabataan Kontra Droga at Terorismo” launch, which also side-lines as an electioneering event for former Special Assistant to the President and now senatorial bet Bong Go.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines have been conducting school-based seminars for teachers and students where they identify progressive party-lists from Makabayan Bloc to be Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army fronts, and urges participants not to vote for these groups.
The propagation of lies, spearheaded by no less than the government, goes against the principle and objective of education to espouse truth and facts, and to mold critical minds. These state-sponsored vilification campaign serve no other purpose than to preserve the oppressive and exploitative status quo. It further exposes who the real terrorists are.
With the state making enemies out of teachers and the people, we are left to rely solely on our own collective strength. Even state infrastructures, from whom we have sought defense and protection, have fallen short on its mandate to serve ordinary Filipinos and bring justice to them, as seen in the outright dismissal of the Court of Appeals to declare the intelligence operations of the Philippine National Police unconstitutional.
Thus, teachers need to rely on their own strength and support of the public, of influential personalities, and of the international community in the defense of our ranks. The grim political condition in the country and the lack of support from state institutions compelled us to form Teachers’ CHALK (Complaint Hotline and Legal Kiosk).
Such is a concrete step towards promoting unity and solidarity inside and outside the country for the empowerment of teachers against the onslaught of state-sponsored attacks, which only continue to intensify. It is also aimed at the protection of democracy in the country.
Let this be known to the administration: we will not be intimidated by cowardly tyrants who employ worn-out tactics of terrorist-tagging to silence our ranks and our legitimate demands. We stand tall in the fight for justice and for the rights of teachers and of the people. As history have shown, no amount of fascism can stand in the way of a united people’s resolve for social justice. – JOSELYN MARTINEZ, national chairperson, Alliance of Concerned Teachers
