FORCE” might be a rather strong word to use in this context, but just the same, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte told parents and elders during an event in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, to “force” their children to go to school and keep them out of the way of extremism and violence.
Duterte was just being emphatic in driving home the point that children, especially in far-away Mindanao, are very much vulnerable to recruitment of various forces of evil, and whatever their inadequacies, their best bet for personal improvement and economic progress are the government-run schools.
The Vice President delivered a speech touting education as rural Mindanao’s prime mover during Koronadal City’s Hinugyaw Festival and 83rd anniversary celebration at the South Cotabato Sports Complex on Jan. 10.
The Vice President’s actual words were the following: “Education is a liberating force. I cannot overemphasize to all adults here in Mindanao – we should force our children to go to school. The Department of Education is implementing a stronger child protection mechanism in our school communities — another layer of defense against the recruitment and exploitation of children and youth.”
‘We hear that the Vice President is also piqued at the Senate and the House of Representatives for pruning the budget of the National Task Force To End Local Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC)…’
While the Department of Education is not at the forefront of fighting the Communist Party-New People’s Army combine, VP Duterte has taken up the challenge of confronting the insurgents in her turf, the schools. It is no secret that the communists run their own version of schools in the hinterlands, mainly “Lumad” children as pupils, teaching them how to fight the government. The younger Duterte wants to oppose this with strengthened official education policies and programs, an improvement from her father, President Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to bomb these “Lumad” schools during his time.
Sara Duterte declared, “While our government armed forces are working hard to weed out these groups and keeping civilian Filipinos safe, we must ensure that we do our share to protect our peace and order and keep our communities free from fear and violence.”
We hear that the Vice President is also piqued at the Senate and the House of Representatives for pruning the budget of the National Task Force To End Local Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) which is leading the construction of small infrastructure, water, power and livelihood projects in places which had been recovered by the government from CPP-NPA’s influence.
This must be the reason for her rant, and in a Facebook post, Duterte said her message to Koronadal City residents is a look-back at the progress of the city while also calling them to not be lured by terrorism and teaching them the importance of education.
