(We yield this space to the statement of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers due to its timeliness. – Ed.)
THE Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) registers its strong condemnation of the growing culture of impunity. Since July 2019, seven teachers have been slain, five out of which were done in the infamous tokhang-style of brazen shooting, executed by riding-in-tandem and/or masked men. Then on Oct. 31 our former provincial coordinator Mermalyn Bito-on was among those arrested in the dubious raid of legal organizations’ offices in Bacolod City. It is alarming that from profiling and harassments, the attacks on our organization and on our sector as a whole have reached such grave levels.
ACT has been a strong and resounding voice in the fight for decent pay and better benefits for education workers, as well as for the state’s prioritization of people’s welfare through social and economic services. We likewise have remained steadfast in the pursuit of social justice, the defense of our rights and freedoms, and in the call to uphold democracy in the country. Our consistent campaign have exposed the failures of the government to perform its duties to the people. Hence, the harassments, vilification, and various other forms of rights violations which aim to sow terror and suppress our just struggle.
These despicable measures are part and parcel of the efforts to stifle dissent and criticism. The government has declared all rights defenders and legitimate unions and organizations as terrorists. We are being treated as enemies of the state and became subject to its counterinsurgency programs, executed through Executive Order 70 or the Whole-of-Nation Approach to Counterinsurgency, Memorandum 32 which placed several regions under state of lawlessness, and the two-year martial law in Mindanao. These issuances have led to the weaponization of the entire civilian bureaucracy against the exercise of our rights and freedoms, and have placed the entire country under a de-facto martial law. Such is further legitimized through corruptible members of the judiciary who have issued dubious warrants against human rights workers, and through the railroading of draconian laws in the legislature.
The current strongman rule is quickly revealing itself to be no more than an attempt at another Marcosian dictatorship, complete with all its vital elements — massive human rights violations, repression, arrests, killings, as well as the pardoning and incentivizing of his cronies and allies, all while the rest of the country sink further into poverty and despair.
However, these only serve to further legitimize our demands for social justice. More teachers will rise in the defense of our rights and liberties. Our fight for decent pay and better social services to the people remain just and urgent. We will not cower in the face of growing state terrorism and the come-back of dictatorship in the country. We, along with other democracy- and freedom-loving Filipinos, will stand our ground and demand justice.
