Looking into Salugpungan school ops is DepEd's duty: AFP

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 8, 2019): Looking into Salugpungan school ops is DepEd's duty: AFP

The Department of Education (DepEd) is in charge of looking into the operation of all educational facilities operating in a particular area or region, a military official has said.

"It is already a DepEd issue. The matter was already brought to their attention, especially DepEd-11. They have to do their task of monitoring and supervising the schools under their jurisdiction," Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief, Col. Noel Detoyato, said in a message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Monday.

Detoyato was asked to comment on the report that Talaingod campuses of the so-called Salugpungan Ta'Tanu Igkanugon Community Learning Center, Inc. (STTICLCI) resumed classes on Monday.

Earlier, he said the AFP is not discounting the possibility that some DepEd officials and personnel were threatened by the New People's Army (NPA) to allow the operation of Salugpungan schools in the Davao region.

"We are not discounting that angle. The enemies of (the) state, particularly the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) - NPA has a way of using threat and intimidation to attain their objective," Detoyato added.

Salugpungan schools landed in the limelight after it was conclusively found out that they are being used to recruit minor members of Indigenous Peoples (IP) to fill up NPA ranks.

With this development, IP leaders urged government agencies to close the facilities.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1058226