Lumad students, teachers to protest military encampment in schools

MANILA, Philippines - More than 50 Lumad students and teachers from community schools in Mindanao will start on Monday afternoon a vigil in front of the Department of Education central office in Pasig City to protest the continuous encampment of soldiers in their campuses.

Along with various non-government organizations led by Save Our Schools Network, the Lumad students and teachers called on Education Secretary Armin Luistro to scrap the memorandum which allows the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to use the schools in military operations. 

The groups said that to date, there are around 214 Lumad community schools with military encampment in Mindanao.

The groups will try to seek a dialogue with Luistro to discuss the issues plaguing Lumad community schools.  

On December 2, the group will also build a makeshift classroom to show the plight of Lumads every time they are forced to evacuate their communities when there are military operations in the area.