Palace: Illegal Lumad schools drew Duterte's attention
MANILA, Philippines — Lumad schools which failed to comply with the requirements of the Department of Education drew the attention of President Rodrigo Duterte, a Malacañang official said Friday.
During his State of the Nation Address earlier this week, the president threatened to bomb tribal schools allegedly teaching subversion in Mindanao.
"It is the illegal Lumad schools which drew the president's adverse reaction," Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Assistant Secretary Ana Marie Banaag said in a televised press conference.
READ: Duterte says only empty Lumad schools would be bombed
Banaag clarified that the chief executive was not referring to all Lumad schools but only those who refused to comply with the DepEd requirements on the curriculum.
The PCOO official stressed that Duterte does not intend to launch airstrikes toward Lumad children.
"On the contrary, he said that they should get out of the schools as he was referring to structures and not the children," Banaag said.
According to the DepEd, there are three left-oriented indigenous people schools in Mindanao — the Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development (ALCADEV), the Center for Lumad Advocacy and Services, Inc. (CLANS) and the Salagpongan Community Learning Center.
ALCADEV does not have a permit to operate and refuses to get a permit from the DepEd while CLANS has been given three months to comply with DepEd requirements.
Banaag noted that the DepEd had also established Lumad schools in the region which are complying with its curriculum requirements.
"There are Lumad schools established by religious groups and civic organizations which are legitimate. Also, there are three indigenous people schools that have been constructed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development," Banaag said.
In a news conference late Thursday, Duterte said that the bombings against Lumad schools will be done at night.
In his SONA, Duterte claimed that the rebels were sparing Lumad schools which were allegedly operating under guerilla control without permits.
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