MANILA, Philippines – Various groups slammed the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to approve the inclusion of the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (Cocopea) in the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), noting possible implications on critical thinking in schools.
NTF-ELCAC Executive Director Ernesto Torres Jr. announced in a Malacañang press briefing on Friday, November 8, that Cocopea was included as one of two private representatives in the task force, which gained notoriety for the red-tagging of activists and progressive groups. The briefing was on 6th NTF-ELCAC Executive Committee Meeting presided by Marcos.
Torres said that Cocopea represented at least 1,500 private schools across the country, and that its inclusion would “broaden the base of our information awareness campaign” related to “terror grooming” of organizations like the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front.
Kabataan Partylist, in a statement on Friday, November 8, said it was “dismayed” by the inclusion of Cocopea, saying that schools should be spaces for learning, free expression, and organization, and not repression of critical thought.
Kabataan spokesperson Renee Louise Co questioned whether private school stakeholders were consulted prior to the inclusion.
“The NTF-ELCAC has no business meddling with private schools while anomalies pop up about its unfinished projects and vague and dubious ‘accomplishments’ every time Congress scrutinizes its proposed budget. It should be abolished as a notorious and nuisance task force wasting taxpayer money, and its funds should be rechanneled to address the learning crisis,” said Co.
Anakbayan deputy spokesperson Mhing Gomez said on Saturday, November 9, that Cocopea’s inclusion was a “serious encroachment on academic freedom,” and a calculated move to normalize military presence in schools.
“These ‘information awareness’ programs are nothing more than a Trojan horse for embedding NTF-ELCAC’s doomed-to-fail tactics in addressing the roots of armed conflict into our schools. It is silly to advocate ‘information awareness’ if it will stem from an institution that is allergic to critical thinking and youth’s active participation regarding social issues,” Gomez said in a statement.
“Cocopea’s decision to permit NTF-ELCAC access to school environments is deeply irresponsible and threatens to create a culture of intimidation in spaces that should be avenues for critical thinking, open dialogue, learning, and free expression,” Gomez added.
‘Sending students to the wolves’
Panday Sining, meanwhile, said that the NTF-ELCAC was a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” The group mentioned the experiences of students and progressive student organizations who were subjected to the task force’s surveillance.
“Sinasabi ng NTF-ELCAC na nagsasabi sila ng katotohanan, pero ramdam ng mga kabataang-estudyante ang pangil nila sa patuloy na panunupil sa karapatan ng mga kabataan. Ngunit sa kabila ng paniniil ng NTF-ELCAC, buo ang loob ng mga kabataan na magpatuloy sa pag-oorganisa at pagpapanawagan sa pagbasura ng pasistang ahensya,” said Panday Sining chairperson Mariel Orpiada.
(The NTF-ELCAC claims they are telling the truth, but young students feel the sting of the continued suppression of youth rights. But despite the tyranny of the NTF-ELCAC, young people are determined to continue organizing and calling for the abolition of the fascist agency.)
Panday Sining called on Cocopea to withdraw from the partnership.
The League of Filipino Students also demanded the withdrawal of Cocopea from the task force, warning that its membership in NTF-ELCAC “makes millions of students vulnerable to red-tagging, an attack to the ‘right to life, liberty, and security’ as stated by the Supreme Court.”
“Schools are zones of peace, not playgrounds of NTF-ELCAC monsters. By joining this repressive agency, the COCOPEA has opened the gates of hell and unleashed disinformation, militarization, and harassment to millions of private school students. COCOPEA must pull out now or else admit that it wants to silence students speaking up against tuition fee hikes and student repression,” said LFS national chairperson Lloyd Manango.
“COCOPEA Chairperson Fr. Albert Delvo has a lot of explaining to do. How can you allow Catholic schools to be part of this when the CBCP has already drawn flak for its ties with the task force and has withdrawn its membership? Pull out now or risk sending millions of students to the wolves,” Manango said.
Weeks before the announcement of its inclusion in NTF-ELCAC, Cocopea had participated in the
“Dialogue with Civil Society Organizations on the National Action Plan on Unity, Peace and Development” initiated and organized by NTF-ELCAC.
In a statement at the October 15 dialogue held in Quezon City, Cocopea expressed “solidarity with the government, particularly the NTF-ELCAC, in its ongoing peace efforts through the National Action Plan on Unity, Peace and Development.”
“As an educational association, we echo NTF-ELCAC’s whole-of-nation approach through the holistic formation of our students centered on peace, quality education and values development, both moral and spiritual,” Cocopea had said.
The NTF-ELCAC, which has long been criticized for endangering lives of activists and progressive groups, was a key figure in the Duterte administration’s crackdown on dissent. Despite calls to disband it, the Marcos administration has carried on its mandate, denying the well-documented red-tagging the task force has been doing since its creation in 2018.
In 2021, under the Rodrigo Duterte administration, the task force claimed that top universities like Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, and the University of Santo Tomas were “recruitment havens for the New People’s Army” – a remark school leaders condemned. – Rappler.com