By INA ALLECO SILVERIO
Since 2009, militarization has caused the closure of schools and disruption of classes in the rural areas of Mindanao.
By MARIFE MAGBANUA
Wearing Manobo-designed vestments adorned with colorful bead necklaces and earrings, 24 graduating indigenous youth proudly marched during the third graduation ceremonies of Alcadev. Tears of joy filled the morning of March 10, 2010, as students, parents, teachers and other guests celebrated the end of another school year full of achievements and challenges.
By MARIFE MAGBANUA
Students and the teachers of an alternative boarding school for Lumads in Surigao del Sur pick up the pieces after being displaced by militarization for 40 days.
Barely a month after the Manobos went back to their homes in Lianga, the soldiers are back again, recruiting them to the Task Force Gantangan, a paramilitary group to fight the government’s war against the insurgents.
By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
The Manobos of Surigao del Sur may be back home for now, but they still face the threats of militarization – even as they also have to contend with the burden of rebuilding their ravaged homes, schools, and livelihoods. View slideshow
The CHR fact-finding mission is in response to a resolution approved by the provincial government of Surigao del Sur asking the CHR to look into the alleged abuses by the military against Lumads. Progressive groups will hold a parallel solidarity mission to the province.
LIANGA, Surigao del Sur -- The established pattern of military atrocities in several villages in this province sent the Manobo folk packing up to leave this year, even at the mere sight of soldiers. Karapatan-Caraga said that on June 10, some 70 soldiers of the...
Special Report | Last of Three Parts Even in times of crisis and conflict, Alcadev, the nonformal school for tribal children in Surigao del Sur, carries on with its mission. Indeed, the recent militarization in Surigao that resulted in massive displacements of Lumad residents proved to be quite a learning experience for the students, if only it weren’t so traumatic.
The occupation by the military of a nonformal school for tribal children in Surigao del Sur has raised concern among officials, with the Department of Education suggesting this week that those threatened by the presence of the soldiers should seek the court’s protection through the writ of amparo.
Special Report | Second of Three Parts A significant impact of an Alcadev education is that it “bridges the knowledge between students and parents.” It thus helps the development of Lumad communities. But the military is suspicious, branding the school and what it does as communist, harassing not just the teachers and students but its foreign supporters and visitors as well.
The living conditions of the Lumad in the evacuation center make them, especially the infants and children, vulnerable to illnesses resulting from lack of food, water and facilities for sanitation. "Their daily lives, work and schools have sadly become “collateral damage to the Arroyo’s counterinsurgency campaign," says Gabriela Rep. Luz Ilagan.
By BENJIE OLIVEROS Analysis Bulatlat.com MANILA -- The Arroyo government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are seeing red again. This time, they are attacking, of all places, schools that serve Lumad communities. Long neglected by the government, the Lumad...
Special Report | First of Three Parts A non-formal school in Surigao del Sur has shown how education serves as a tool to unite and develop Lumad communities. Now, amid the evacuation by Manobo villages triggered by the presence of soldiers, the school is being targeted by the military, claiming that it is an “NPA school.”
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Lumads of Surigao: Home at Last