NPA-linked schools ops still halted

The decision was grounded on the findings of various regulatory violations, deficiencies, and compliance issues on the part of the school management, apart from its alleged NPA links

DAVAO CITY — The Department of Education in Davao region (DepEd-11) stressed that schools under the Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center, Inc. (STTICLCI) will not be able to resume operations.

DepEd-11 spokesperson Jenielito Atillo disclosed that the with the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict (NTF- ELCAC), they were able to close down New People’s Army (NPA)-affiliated schools that allegedly became a breeding ground for child warriors.

To recall, the military and Salugpongan’s former students have long accused the tribal school system of being a training and recruitment ground for the NPA.

In August 2019, DepEd-11 ordered the closure of 55 STTICLCI schools in Davao Region and the decision was grounded on the findings of various regulatory violations, deficiencies, and compliance issues on the part of the school management, apart from its alleged NPA links.

Atillo said that the STTICLCI’s closure came “after careful consideration, analysis, and thorough evaluation of the testimonies of the resource persons, key informant and documents submitted.”

Before the closure Salugpongan schools, Atillo said DepEd-11 managed to place its former students in government-accredited schools.

“Not all children enrolled in the Salugpongan schools hailed from Davao Region. Some were from Luzon; they were taken there and brought here so the kids were confined in the schools because they had nowhere else to go,” Atillo said.

He added that at least 2,200 public schools and 498 private schools have signified readiness for the full implementation of face-to-face classes in November 2022.

Meanwhile, Capt. Mark Anthony Tito, the Army’s 10th Infantry Division (ID) spokesperson, said the military has “done extensive efforts” to clear the areas of Davao Region and its other areas of responsibility of rebel-linked schools.

This year, the 10ID has declared four provinces and one city in Davao Region as free from the communist insurgency and to date, only Davao Oriental province has remnants of the weakened NPA Guerrilla Front 18 operating in its peripheries before the entire region could be declared insurgency free.