Private school group withdraws from anti-red task force

Metro Manila, Philippines - A private school group said on Monday it has cut ties with the controversial anti-insurgency task force.

In a statement, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Institutions (Cocopea) said it “opted to strengthen education initiatives by preserving its collaborative role outside of a formal membership in the NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force to End Local Communist and Armed Conflict).

“As a council of education associations composed of diverse members from faith-based mission schools to nonsectarian schools, universities, colleges, and tech-voc institutes, Cocopea’s withdrawal from the task force is of utmost significance in preserving the essentiality of academic freedom and the vital role it plays in a democratic society,” it said.

The group said it “remains one” with the task force in achieving security and socio-economic development despite its withdrawal.

In November 2024, NTF-ELCAC announced Cocopea’s inclusion in their executive committee to help in the campaign against what the government called “terror grooming” of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front.

In a press statement, the Alliance of Concerned Teachers commended Cocopea’s action.

“This is a welcome development that shows how education institutions are beginning to recognize that the NTF-ELCAC's presence in schools is incompatible with academic freedom and democratic rights,” Jonathan Geronimo, ACT private schools secretary-general said.

“Schools should be safe spaces for critical thinking, academic discourse, and the free exchange of ideas, not venues for surveillance and intimidation,” he added.