“If this senate hearing pushes through, it will be a good venue to really talk about the issue and to have all the parties involved to face each other.”
By BETTINA CATLI
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Three women senators may soon lead a senate investigation on the continued military aggression against Lumad schools in Mindanao.
Members of the Save Our Schools Network (SOS Network), held separate dialogues on July 8, with legislative staff officers of Senators Pia Cayetano, Grace Poe and Aquilino Pimentel III, to seek aid to stop the presence and harassment of the military in Lumad communities and schools.
Kharlo Manano, secretary general of Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns which is a convener of SOS Network, said that Cayetano’s legislative officer, lawyer Jill Sabitsana, said they are willing to hold a senate hearing about the militarization of the schools.
Manano said Sabitsana asked for a list of who should be invited to the hearing. He said the AFP and the infantry battalions who were involved in the attacks must be invited together with officials of the Department of Education (DepEd).
Meanwhile, Manano said the office of Senator Poe agreed to co-author Senate Resolution 1392 filed by Senator Miriam Santiago, which calls for a senate inquiry on the shutdown of Lumad schools.
Poe’s staff also agreed to donate school books and other material aid to the affected schools.
“If this senate hearing pushes through, it will be a good venue to really talk about the issue and to have all the parties involved to face each other, because, for the longest time, we have been bringing this issue to the local offices of DepEd, and even the AFP, but it has never been finished.”
Cayetano’s legislative staff officers also agreed that there must be an on-site investigation.
Cayetano heads the Senate committee on education, arts and culture. Poe heads the committee on public order and dangerous drugs, while Pimentel heads the committee on justice and human rights.
“It will be a great help if the senate has a statement on how they will respond to this issue and problem,” said Ronnie Garcia, basic education head of the Salugpungan Ta Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center (STTICLC). He also said that the aid offered to them is a good thing since it will help IP communities “destitute for basic social services the government should be providing.”
Percinita Sanchez, executive director the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc. Academy (MISFI), said they appreciate the support offered, although they hope that there is assistance in “protecting the safety and security” of the community.
The SOS Network said that from 2010 to May 2015, there have been 82 incidents of military harassment and attacks involving 75 schools in Mindanao. Most of the attacks were in Region 11.
“There has been so much discrimination towards the Lumad people. They have already been neglected for a long time and when the NGOs and people’s organizations come and help them, they are red-tagged,” said Sanchez citing the accusations that the teachers of the Lumad schools are members of the New People’s Army.
Sanchez also hope that there will be an investigation on DepEd’s collaboration with the military in closing the Lumad schools. “There are really forces in society that would keep indigenous peoples illiterate so they can be easily manipulated and taken advantage.” 
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