The Leonardo Panaligan Command-New People’s Army (LPC-NPA) condemns in the strongest term the extensive terror brought by the military forces in schools in Central Negros.

Under the Executive Order 70 or also known as the Whole-of-Nation approach, the US-Marcos Jr regime utilizes every civilian agency in the reactionary government, including the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and maximizes its resources for their hopeless ambition, that is to end the existing insurgency in the country. Accordingly, there have been several occassions wherein the state forces in full battle gear harbor in premises that are supposed to be safe place for the children and youth.

“Aside from the complaint of the masses we have heard, the 303rd IB themselves shamelessly told the public that their troops are deployed in schools, terrorizing teachers and students. Obviously, this is an outright violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL),” said JB Regalado, the spokesperson of LPC-NPA.

As stated in CARHRIHL, personnel and facilities of schools shall not be the target of any attack. However, presence of these fascist troops of the reactionary state are observed in schools located in Barangay Trinidad, Guihulngan Cty; Sitio Paliran, Barangay Pinocawan, Vallhermoso; Barangay Bucalan, Canlaon City and many other areas within Guihulngan City; all in Negros Oriental.

Both the students and teachers fear for their lives. Through coercion and deceitful propaganda, they are given the task to report to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) regarding the whereabouts of the NPA. This is a clear violation of international humanitarian law (IHL) that prohibits “the coercion of civilians into participating in hostilities or intelligence-gathering activities for military forces.”

Regalado also made a remark on the 303rd IB’s repetitive and baseless propaganda, that the youth are being deceived by the revolutionary movement. “The youth who choose to follow the path of the revolutionaries are not the ones lost in the tunnel of lies. Rather, it is you, a member of the AFP, consumed by blind obedience and absurd doctrine. How can I say so? Because you keep on blabbering about protecting the masses while doing the exact opposite thing. Wake up! You are serving the exploitative class. Better leave your office for it is not too late to remold and serve the oppressed and exploited masses,” the rebel spokesperson said with conviction.

Further, he urged the Negrosanon youth and teachers to stay critical to the information being fed to them by the reactionary state. It is of crucial importance to echo the call of ending militarization in schools.

These sectors suffer the same fate with the workers and the peasants. Hence, they must pick the side of the oppressed and exploited to fight against imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism in order to emancipate the Filipino people.