ADVERTISEMENT
Detained Grade 10 student Esmelito Oribawan and Datu Benito Bay-ao have fallen ill in jail.
“This is unacceptable. How can government social workers refuse to heed the orders of the court? Beyond the legal imperative, how can government social workers not empathize with the sufferings of the child and the father whose reunion has been blocked again and again?”
Save Our Schools Network protested the transfer and called it “illegal transport of minors."
The SOS Network denounced what it called "illegal transport of minors" by authorities.
"It was indeed very enriching for me to be given the opportunity to teach the Lumad Junior and Senior High-School students. Likewise, it was very heart-wrenching as I had learned many things from them especially in their narratives of struggles to uphold ownership of their ancestral lands and their way of life as well as their fight for self-determination and liberation from the shackles of their oppressors."
“The Lumad students went to Cebu to escape the repression brought about by the militarization in Mindanao only to experience continuing harm. It is the relentless attacks perpetrated by no less than the government that is wreaking violence in the lives of Lumad youths who only seek to go to school and learn.”
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown imposed last year, students were not able to return to their communities. But with the government's easing of travel restrictions, the university said plans have been made for their return. Four of the delegates, in fact, have already returned to their respective communities.
“We will defend UP, our sanctuary, as much as it has defended us.” - Lumad student
A community of readers and supporters that help us sustain our operations through microdonations for as low as $1.