Youth groups strongly condemned the Coordinating Councils for Private Educational Associations (Cocopea) for joining the National Task Force (NTF)-Elcac as a private partner of the anti-people and anti-democratic agency. The NTF-Elcac has been involved in numerous complaints of Red-tagging, harassment, and other forms of human rights violations.

The NTF-Elcac announced on November 8 that Cocopea is the second private representative to officially become a member of the agency. Cocopea claims to be the “unified voice of private education” in the Philippines, representing 1,500 schools and universities in the country.

Before the announcement, Cocopea participated in a dialogue facilitated by NTF-Elcac on October 15 in Quezon City. The dialogue discussed plans for “long-term peace, unity, and socio-economic development in the country” outlined in the anti-insurgency campaign.

Cocopea openly expressed its willingness to partner with NTF-Elcac as an educational institution to promote the notorious “whole-of-nation approach.” It supports the statements and stance of NTF-Elcac to “expose the terrorist grooming scheme” of “designated terrorist groups” within schools. It also pledged to participate in information campaigns to expose what it calls “terrorist activities.”

The League of Filipino Students (LFS) called on Cocopea to immediately withdraw its membership from NTF-Elcac. The group said its entry into the agency will expose students to the dangers of Red-tagging and attacks.

“By joining this repressive agency, Cocopea has opened the gates of hell and unleashed disinformation, militarization, and harassment to millions of private school students,” LFS national chairperson Lloyd Manango, said.

He added that Cocopea must pull out of the agency now, or else prove itself to be a partner in suppressing students who fight against tuition fee increases and student repression in private schools.

Kabataan Party-list is also disappointed with Cocopea’s decision. “Schools should be spaces for learning, for free expression and organization, and not repression of critical thought,” Kabataan Party-list spokesperson Atty. Renee Louise Co said.

“Was this deal with the devil ever consulted with private school stakeholders?” Kabataan asked. The group is aware that this is state intervention into the autonomy of private schools and the imposition of military control over civilian authority.

LFS and Kabataan Party-list called on all students, student councils, and other organizations in private schools to demand Cocopea to withdraw from the NTF-Elcac. They said that students must resist any attempt to curtail their democratic rights while fighting against the commercialization of education, tyranny, and for justice. The Congress of Teachers and Educators for Nationalism and Democracy (CONTEND) also expressed support for this fight.

In October last year, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs (ECPA) was forced to withdraw from NTF-Elcac after being criticized by democratic organizations for its membership. In media interviews at the time, the CBCP commission said it was withdrawing from NTF-Elcac to maintain its independence as an institution.