DepEd strongly condemns shooting of teacher in Negros Occidental
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) said on Monday it deplores the shooting of a teacher from Himamaylan National High School in Negros Occidental, who was supposed to serve in the polls.
In a statement, DepEd said it "strongly condemns" the incident as it does not condone any acts of violence and injustice towards educators.
It urged local authorities to bring the perpetuators to justice.
"We call on the local authorities in Negros Occidental to deliver swift justice for such heinous crime against our dearly departed colleague. Likewise, we reiterate our call to our partner agencies, especially the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to protect our teachers, poll workers, and voters," DepEd said.
It is not clear yet on whether the shooting is linked to the elections, but the department is working with field offices and local officials to investigate the incident.
DepEd also said that Secretary Leonor Briones has instructed their finance unit to provide financial aid and other means of assistance to the teacher and her family.
Violence should never be part of the elections, a crucial process in a democracy, the agency said.
Election-related violence
In the 2019 mid-term elections, the country registered 60 cases of election-related violence which caused 23 deaths in the run-up to the polls, according to a report on the Philippines' human rights practices by the US Department of State, citing data from the PNP.
The PNP links violent incidents to elections if they happened during election and campaign period, if the parties involved are candidates, their supporters and family members, as well as if the motive of the incident was to disrupt or influence the elections.
RELATED: PNP: Poll-related violent cases now at 16
On Monday, three barangay tanods who were guarding a polling precinct in Buluan, Maguindanao were shot dead at about 8:15 a.m. The attack sent hundreds of voters running for their lives, with the incident interrupting the polls.
The area has been cordoned off by the police, and the situation is "back to normal", Department of the Interior and Local Government spokesperson and undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said in a Laging Handa briefing on Monday.
The DILG official also gave updates about a gun fight incident in Ulocos Sur between supporters of rival candidates, which he said has already been "defused."
Teacher poll workers back out in BARMM due to threats
An undisclosed number of teachers serving as board of election inspectors (BEIs) in 47 clustered precincts in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) backed out due to fears for their safety, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco.
Before the precincts opened at 6 a.m, he explained that they have tapped trained PNP personnel to serve as replacement BEIs.
In a statement over Viber, teachers' group Alliance for Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines cited this as well as other incidents of violence against teachers during the elections.
"We are very angry and disturbed at the rampant violence which is being sowed by people who want to meddle with the elections," ACT Secretary General Raymond Basilio said in Filipino.
"Early in the election day, the Comelec is failing big time in its mandate to ensure a safe, clean, honest and peaceful polls," he added.
- Latest
- Trending
