Tags: alcadev

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

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.

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 58th IB came and lived in a number of Lumad…

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 communities in Surigao del Sur under their organization Mapasu (Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang sa Sumusunod,…

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.”