On the morning of Monday, February 15, Central Visayas police, military, and social welfare personnel raided a school for indigenous children at the University of San Carlos – Talamban.
The operation ended with the arrest of at least 26 individuals, many of whom were minors, and including volunteer teacher and activist Chad Booc, who is a petitioner against the anti-terror law, whose constitutionality is being deliberated by the Supreme Court.
What do the arrest of the “Lumad 26” and the unannounced entry of policemen and soldiers into a university campus mean for the student community?
With the recently passed anti-terror law and its vague definition of terrorism, what is at stake for the youth if the Supreme Court dismisses petitions to void the law?
Rappler Cebu correspondents Lorraine Ecarma and John Sitchon discuss these issues with student leaders who have rallied for academic freedom and peace for indigenous peoples:
- Aura Agba, a youth activist from Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante, University of the Philippines – Cebu
- Macy Cresencioy, a student leader at the University of the Philippines – Cebu University Student Council
- Michael Quijada, member of University of San Carlos STAND and VP of Carolinian Political Science Society
- Angel Mendiola, incumbent VP of the USC Supreme Student Council and convenor at Save Our School Network Cebu
- Chricelyn Empong, Lumad Student Representative
Watch the interview at 10 pm on Tuesday, February 16. – Rappler.com
Read the translation of the full interview here:
John Sitchon: Hello and welcome. Good day to all. I’m John Sitchon, a Rappler Cebu correspondent. Together with me in hosting this Rappler Talk today is fellow Rappler journalist Lorraine Ecarma.
Lorraine Ecarma: Hello.Yesterday, 26 delegates of a Lumad bakwit school in University of San Carlos – Talamban campus here in Cebu were arrested by police in what they called a “rescue” operation against the training of minors to become “child warriors” for a rebel group. Of this, 19 were minors and were taken into custody by the Cebu City Social Welfare and Development Office, while 7 adults, including 2 datus, 2 teachers, and 3 students have been detained at the PRO-7 and were arrested without warrants.
Sitchon: We are accompanied now by student leaders who come from different organizations in universities. We will be introducing Aura Agbay, who comes from Nagkahiusang Kusog sa Estudyante NKE of the University of the Philippines Cebu. Michael Angelo S. Quijada from University of San Carlos STAND. He’s also currently the Vice President of The Carolinian Political Science Society. We also have here Angel Mendiola from the University of San Carlos Supreme Student Council. She’s the incumbent vice president. She’s also a convener of the Save Our Schools Network Cebu. Also here is Macy Cresencio from the University of the Philippines Cebu University Student Council. Of course, we have here too Chricelyn Empong, a representative for Lumad students.
Hello. How are you and good morning. Of course, the person leading this discussion is Lorraine Ecarma. Let’s welcome Lorraine.
Ecarma: Good day to all! Our first question is going to be for Chricelyn. Chricelyn is a Lumad student who participated in a Lumad Bakwit School. So Chricelyn, since you were able to join a Lumad Bakwit School, can you tell us about your experience in Bakwit schools and why there are Bakwit schools in the first place? Why did you end up going to different places just to continue your studies?
Chricelyn Empong: I’m Chricelyn, a grade 12 student who’s staying here in Manila and who’s continuing to study despite the rampant attacks. 2014 was when the lakbayan started, where different sectors and indigenous people in the Philippines gathered. This happens every year. In 2015, my fellow students who come from ALCADEV, Davao del Norte joined. This is to assert our rights because we were being harassed in our communities. That’s why we joined in going here to Manila. In 2017, the Bakwit School started here in Metro Manila. One of those that accepted us was University of the Philippines.
They let us live there for a year. The harassment worsened during Duterte’s term. Even during former President Ninoy Aquino, there were already severe cases of harassment. There were also schools that were closed during that time. One of them is my school. Back when I was in grade 7, my school was closed by military, together with the people who were also forced to do so. We evacuated in Davao where, until now, our fellow indigenous people are still staying in evacuation centers. Although we are already here in the city, we are still being followed. If we remember what happened in 2016, it was already late at night, maybe 12 am, we were asleep that time. We woke up because there were loud screams, and people said there was a fire. It’s true. There was a fire. AFP burned our sanctuary in Haran, Davao City? on purpose. There was a 3-year-old child whose hand got burned. There are others who got burned as well.
These attacks worsened during the term of Duterte. These further worsened when Duterte declared Martial Law in Mindanao. Even us, the students, do not know our rights anymore because of the attacks against us. During Duterte’s 1st year, there were 35 schools that he closed. From the 215 schools in Mindanao, 35 were gone. This further worsened because martial law favors the military and the police. During that time, we experienced severe harassment. In 2015, we remember the Lianga massacre, where an executive director and 2 datus were killed in a community.
A fellow student named Obello Bay-ao was killed on September 5, 2017. Until now, justice has not yet been achieved. Johnmar Acto is not a student in a Lumad school. He’s a student of Department of Education but he’s a Lumad. That time, there was an encounter. What was done to him was they took off his clothes. They snagged his t-shirt and changed him into a black long sleeves top. They made his dead body embrace a gun. They reported him as a 15-year-old rebel. There are a lot of attacks.
I’m also one of the victims of Martial Law. My dad on November 17, 2018, was a victim of extrajudicial killings. My dad did not commit any crimes because, if you know Fr Pops Ingtol, an Italian priest, he was with him in setting up a school and health center in our community. What was done to him: People were looking for him. He was wanted for a long time. I only got news that while I was here in Bakwit School asserting our rights, I learned that my dad was killed.
There were others that got killed such as my classmates. Our teachers were arrested. Our schools were closed. Our communities were bombed. Military were camping in and destroying our schools. Those are just some of the things that pushed us to go to Manila to echo the call. If we are just in Mindanao, they will not allow us to be heard. They will not listen to us. Our fellow students who were killed, there was no action from DepEd or DSWD regarding those instances.
Ecarma: Chricelyn, here in Cebu, the reason that the police is giving for the recent arrest of your teachers and fellow students is that the Save Our Schools Network made the Bakwit School as a training ground for rebels and communists for the armed struggle. Is there any truth to this claim? And for Macey and Angel, as organizers of the Bakwit Schools here in Cebu and UP and in the University of San Carlos, can you elaborate more on what actual activities do you organize and take part in for the Lumad schools? Let’s make Chricelyn talk first.
Empong: For me, it is not true what they say that we are being taught those things. This has been said about us for a long time. They call us children of NPA, supporter of NPA. It’s not just us but also our parents. It’s not new to us. We are being red-tagged since before. It’s worse now because they’re being indiscriminate.
In our school, we are not taught how to use a gun or to train with that. If they won’t believe us, the Lumad School is open to accept them and integrate with us so they will know what is being taught to us and what is being trained to us. Yes, we are being trained in our school but it’s not on how to handle guns. We are not being taught to rebel. We are being trained at school so we can be doctors. In our communities, we are far from the city. So in our school, we are taught how to do acupuncture. We also go to communities far from our school so we can practice what we learned.
Ecarma: Alright, as for Macy and Angel, what are the different activities that usually take place and you get involved in as volunteers and as organizers of the Bakwit schools here in Cebu?
Angel Mendiola: Alright, so I’ll go first. As a response to the needs of our national minorities and due to the increasing militarization in the communities in Mindanao, together with the imposition of the Martial Law in Mindanao years back, this caused numerous human rights violations. And so, they needed to evacuate from their communities and Cebu welcomed our Lumad brothers and sisters. And so, back in 2018, Cebu launched the Save Our Schools Network here in Cebu. A little bit of context: The children who were forcibly seized yesterday, they were the second batch.
We already had the first batch of children back in 2018, where they got to immerse with different students around Cebu. They went from one university to another, holding forums to, of course, amplify their Lumad struggle, to get to know why there is such a thing that we call Bakwit School. There we discussed about their continued resistance to continue their education, the lack of basic social services in our hinterlands up until now. There’s also the coming in of big mining companies and the destruction of our environment and the like.
We also have tutorial classes. We call for volunteers. We have volunteer teachers who are students from different universities. We have professors from universities who also teach students and help in their tutorial classes. Sometimes, when the opportunity arises, the Lumad students could even sit in and join actual classes. You know, logistical needs and if the time permits. We also hold psychosocial activities for the children especially because we have heard from Chricelyn earlier that the Lumad children really underwent or are really undergoing traumatic experiences as early as now, as young as they are.
Macy Cresencio: So similar to what Angel shared, Lumad also evacuated in UP Cebu. Back in 2018, our chancellor agreed that they would stay for one week there. Actually, even when our chancellor refused by 2019, the students of UP Cebu continued to immerse and volunteer in the Bakwit School. There were a lot of activities such as cultural activities. We were able to teach Lumad through a music workshop. We were also able to do psychosocial activities. There was also a UP Cookout last 2019. The Lumad took center stage during the cookout to share and amplify their struggle and plight.
This is where we can see how absurd the claims of state forces and police are that they were trained to become communist rebels or red fighters. From what we know, there are no Lumad who were trained for armed struggle. Rather, they are working together to continue their studies despite the militarization and threats they have experienced. Those threats they have experienced have inflicted trauma. That’s why during their stay in UP Cebu, our psychology major students led psychosocial activities. That’s where we found out that they are experiencing severe trauma. It’s really sad that this is what our Lumad in Mindanao are experiencing, especially those who are here with us in Cebu. From the declaration of Martial Law in Mindanao up to what’s happening now in Cebu, we can really see the attacks on our fellow students.
Sitchon: I just want to ask this to… Most especially, I want to ask Michael and Aura, given that you are student leaders, how do you feel about the cancellation of the UP-DND accord and the raid that has happened in your schools? This also includes the reactions of the USC administration.
Michael Quijada: So there are premises that our government should respect. There are places that we should make as safe zones because these places, like for example our schools, should always secure a place that’s healthy. A safe space for the youth, the students, and for the learners because when we talk about universities, of course, this is about the academe. There are reasons that would justify enough to consider why an accord is needed in the first place. What happened yesterday was very shocking because we found out that they just barged in our University of San Carlos here in Cebu without even letting our administrators know. Even Fr Cellan, based from what we see in his live interviews and in social media, we learn that authorities did not inform him. Considering that fact that they can just enter the university, it has a big effect. As public officials or as members of the government, they have to ensure good governance. They are the role models who show they respect boundaries, and that they won’t carelessly red-tag.22:57
As per the record of our history, many people died, based from what our Lumad members are saying. Many people are dying because they are being red-tagged and because of accusations that don’t even have any good evidence. Like for example, NTF-ELCAC, very obvious, they are the architects of red-tagging all over the Philippines. You can wonder if they have adequate knowledge on what they’re doing, what is the definition of red-tagging and what its consequences are. Because from what is happening now and from what we can see, they know nothing about this. Maybe because they have their own political agenda that they want to push. But still, we forward this to political parties within the university that even if our political agenda is different, we should not experience what happened yesterday.
If the Lumad will be taken from their parents, we can opt to sit down and talk it out. That’s how we try to resolve conflict: through discussion. We don’t have to violently take the Lumad because us students–I’m also a student–will be shocked. Why is it so easy for police to enter our school? This is not a problem for USC. This is also a problem for UP.
Aura Agbay: This is where the threat comes in because no matter how resolute the school admin is in keeping schools as safe zones and sanctuaries for the oppressed, if the protection of these safe zones are not institutionalized, the state forces will enter campus whenever and however they like. Similar to what they did in USC, where they disrespected the autonomy of USC and how they entered a school that is supposedly a safe zone for these marginalized groups that have experienced threats and harassment from the state itself. This is where we can see how, even if they do not have warrants or sufficient basis–even now, they have absurd claims that there are child warrior trainings there. It’s laughable. It really makes you think about the context of the Bakwit school. This incident only reaffirms our need for an accord, not just for UP but for all the schools.
This includes lower levels. This is to ensure that schools will be safe zones; like what Michael said, safe spaces to freely discuss our societal issues, our political beliefs. This will not stop in highlighting the importance of the accord but it also raises the issue about the effect of anti-terror law because historically, indigenous groups are often the victims of AFP’s baseless red-tagging and even their fake NPA surrenderees scheme. Even one of those arrested, a volunteer teacher Chad Booc, he’s one of the petitioners against the anti-terror law because of his personal experience of red-tagging from state forces, and even the Cebu City police office itself. He also experienced being red-tagged through the official Facebook account.
Ultimately, we should not let these armed officers continue to act arbitrarily and with impunity so they can forward the interests of the Duterte administration. We can only ensure that if the accords are reinstated not only in UP, PUP but also in all schools. We can also ensure that if we can trash the anti-terror law and if we continue our collective effort to protect democracy and denounce this ongoing militarization of the Duterte administration
Quijada: I also want to emphasize that this is not the first time there is this kind of intimidation happening. Although what happened yesterday is one of the severe cases because they entered the school and harassed people. According to Fr Cellan, it was warrantless, uncoordinated and what happened yesterday was illegal seizure.
For the political parties, like what I represent now Student Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy, we are also organizing rallies and movements with the youth and students. We have experienced our names being listed by state forces, us being recorded. It’s like they are trying to scare us. We are also circled by authorities. They may not have been wearing uniforms but you know what they are. Why are they interested in taking videos of us? That point alone can convince you.
We can say that we need an accord. It’s important to have an accord because we have to assert that in our universities and schools, in order to protect even the academic freedom and freedom of the students, rights of the students, and so they won’t be limited by their potential and capacity. The government should provide them an avenue that’s safe for them, that doesn’t limit them. If we reach a point where they are limited when it comes to what they can do, then what will happen afterwards? What will happen to our research output, even thought papers or essays? We will not reach the point where we will use our expertise from what we learned because we’re scared as students. We’re scared that our programs in our student councils, our programs implemented by political parties are no longer for students because our genuine programs for youth and students might be countered.
Agbay: To reiterate what you said, even when the accord was in place, there were already many violations being committed by state forces. Based from those, we can say the installation of an accord will not solely ensure that we will be protected from state repression and from harassment of state forces because first and foremost, our first defense against these attacks from the state especially the intimidation that’s happening against critics and dissenters
Our first defense from those is our continued resistance. This accord is just a by-product. We have also witnessed that the UP-DND accord was the product of a long and rich history of student movements in not only UP but also in the different universities. For the question regarding what students can expect, this is not time for us to feel the situation is hopeless for the students.
If we’re talking about the Duterte administration, for them, things will only go downhill from here because the youth, the indigenous people, the Lumad, even academic institutions, professionals, and broad Filipino masses are now getting fed up with their lies, brutality, unfulfilled promises, corruption, incompetent response to the pandemic, and other issues that we’re tackling now. People staying silent amid a worsening political and socioeconomic crisis has never happened in history.
During this time, the pandemic has worsened the situation. People are going hungry, students are no longer in school. Our workers are going homeless and jobless. Prices of goods are rising. Salaries are dropping. The demand for a sustainable, competent, and effective governance is growing. What is the response of the Duterte administration? Anti-terror law? Red scare campaign? Militarization? This will not feed the Filipinos. You can only expect greater resistance from here on.
So if for the Duterte administration, things will only get worse. But for the broad Filipino people and Filipino youth who have been struggling for a genuine national democracy, things will only get better for us, especially for our collective force.
Quijada: I totally agree with Ms Aura. It will be worse than what we are experiencing now if this continues. History would tell that signs of a tyrannical government would really create more resistance. History would tell. Even during the Martial Law, there were a lot who resisted because it’s very tyrannical. It had a tight grip. That’s why we need an accord.
Ecarma: How about you, Chricelyn? As a Lumad student, do you see that your situation will worsen, especially because of the militarization, and threats against you and your fellow students?
Empong: For me, things will get worse. When we found out about the UP-DND accord being terminated, we were so worried and scared because we still have fellow Lumad here who are younger than us, around 13 years old. We are worried because we might experience again what we experienced in our communities. We were also scared because of what will happen to UP, which has become our own community or school because it openly accepted us. We were scared because like us, the youth here will also lose their schools.
We were also scared that the students and teachers here will experience what we experienced, that they will know how severe the attacks are and know how difficult it is for your education to be stolen from you. The young Lumad stand together with you and fight with you in upholding the UP-DND accord.
Sitchon: The lengths that the administration and more specifically the NTF-ELCAC to weaponize the red-tagging of universities, student organizations, and even Lumad students have gotten so severe. We also have to ask our student council leaders. What are your student councils and admins doing right now in response to the red-tagging that’s happening now? Maybe Angel and Aura can answer this?
So that’s it on behalf of our Carolinians. Maybe we should also hear from our UP students, our Isko and Iska here? Maybe either Macey or Aura?
Cresencio: In UP Cebu, one thing that’s been constant with NTF-ELCAC is its baseless red-tagging and intimidation of students who have been critical and outspoken. Right now in UP Cebu, we have local efforts to conduct a dialogue with the DILG and also system-wide, we have an alliance or a network which is called the Defend UP Network. In Defend UP Network, there are different organizations, individuals, and unions, that’s where we can see that the UP community is one in defending our rights, especially when it comes to the unilateral abrogation of the UP-DND accord. Even if the state intensifies its attacks, the resistance of the students and the masses will continue to be stronger.
Agbay: To add a little context for student organizations, NKE UP Cebu along with other student organizations within our school and other schools, there are efforts in working hand in hand with our respective admins and other sectors, external networks to respond to the aggressive red-tagging spree of NTF-ELCAC. Contrary to their claims, the students, more and more, are not scared. They are instead more involved because of NTF-ELCAC’s baseless red-tagging and harassment targeted towards students
There are many efforts to organize on-ground protests, petitions, rallies. There are many who are organizing to bring warm bodies to the streets and show the growing dissent against red-tagging and red scare, especially maneuvers to suppress academic freedom of students and right to believe in political ideologies.
We, as NKE UP Cebu along with STAND USC, also filed a petition against the anti-terror at the Supreme Court. We believe that this law because of the vagueness of its provisions, especially in its definition of a terrorist act, poses a great threat, especially to academic freedom of academic institutions and the student political parties. We have our own political ideologies that we believe in. There are interests that we forward. It’s very alarming especially in the face of the controversial anti-terror law because the law criminalizes and vilifies those who believe in leftist ideologies like socialism, communism, which are in fact illegal to believe in.
In fact, these are part of our curriculum, especially for political science students. That’s why we should ensure that we cultivate and protect academic freedom in academic institutions because it will pave the way in solving long-standing social ills that plague our country. This is where we can deepen our understanding of the root causes of our problems here. Academic freedom will allow us to freely discuss what are available alternatives to ensure societal equality, rights for all Filipinos. That’s also how we can see how important it is that we should not normalize this red scare campaign of the Duterte administration
Sitchon: To wrap things up, it’s important for students and academic institutions to stand for the rights of our Lumad students and encourage more young people to take action. Hopefully we can hear this coming from you guys. Maybe two of the student leaders here can answer.
Cresencio: There’s nothing we cannot do without collective action. That’s why we’re ceaseless and tireless in defending our human rights. The struggles of the Lumad do not exist in a vacuum. The students in the city will eventually be affected. As youth, we have the energy and time to resist these attacks and protect our future, one that’s free and democratic. If students become detached from these societal issues, then we’re standing on the wrong side of history, and we become one of the instruments that continue to oppress and violate the human rights of the minorities.
Quijada: Our role as the youth and Filipino students is to amplify the voices who were silenced by the state. We should not be scared to tackle political matters, most especially those that concern Filipino youth. We have to make sure that we will be registering ourselves in the COMELEC so we have the capability to vote who will be the next government officials.
How does this make you feel?
