(We yield this space to the Unity Statement of teachers, academics and education workers due to its significance. – Ed.)
EDUCATION workers cannot sit idly by while grave misrule continues and threatens to perpetuate beyond 2022. For over a year, the COVID-19 pandemic has raged. For over a year, the people have suffered greatly due to the incompetent response and criminal negligence of the Duterte administration. The end is not yet in sight.
An effective response to the current public health crisis must be based on scientific and medical guidance. It must be premised on accessible mass-testing, provision of adequate medical facilities, and a well-organized vaccination campaign. It must also be humane, community-oriented, and rights-based. The massive effect on jobs and incomes of Filipinos must also be quickly addressed by ensuring the provision of basic needs especially for the poorest of the poor. The Duterte administration’s militaristic approach is nothing but the complete opposite of these.
The education sector is in grave crisis. Hundreds of schools are going bankrupt. Enrolment rates are going down as students are forced to skip the school year due to financial and other reasons. The rushed and ill-prepared transition of the Department of Education to online learning is taking a heavy toll on teachers and students alike. Scarcely any support from the government has been forthcoming in terms of much-needed equipment, learning resources, and connectivity.
Even as the pandemic rages on, the Duterte administration stubbornly maintains its questionable policies which undermine national sovereignty and human rights. Duterte’s recent public statements that the 2016 ruling in favor of the Philippines by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the West Philippine Sea is just a “piece of paper” that “he will throw in the wastebasket” virtually surrenders the contested territory to China. Though his mandate as the President of the republic is to defend the nation’s territorial integrity, he has consistently and adamantly refused to protect Philippine sovereignty.
Duterte’s Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020, is a clear and present danger to the freedoms and civil liberties of the Filipino people. It is regarded by some constitutionalists as being worse than Martial Law because of its vague definition of “terror” and its legalization of draconian measures. The continued enforcement of the ATA will embolden acts of red-tagging and freedom of speech. It will also legitimize the military’s spiteful and unrelenting attacks against academic freedom on a national scale.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has recently approved a full probe into the charges of mass atrocities and the tens of thousands of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during Duterte’s drug war. Duterte predictably reacted to the announcement with profanities. The prospect of prosecution, arrest, and imprisonment after losing his immunity as President may drive Duterte to use his power to influence the results of the coming national elections in his favor.
The Philippines clearly cannot afford another six years under Duterte and his allies. His plan to run for Vice President alongside his daughter’s candidacy for President is a transparent bid to extend his power and escape accountability beyond 2022. We cannot allow this if we stand for human rights and the defense of Philippine sovereignty. We cannot allow this if we still hope for an effective and humane response to the COVID-19 public health crisis. We will not be intimidated, and we will not be cowed in the face of creeping authoritarianism and the continuing clampdown on critics.
