ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro on Friday denounced the red-tagging seminar held recently at the Agusan National High School in Butuan City.

She said that 350 public school teachers attended the event.

According to reports by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers Philippines, a memorandum issued by Caraga Schools Division Superintendent Marilou Dedumo, required teachers, except the elderly, to attend the two-hour seminar organized by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, DepEd-Caraga, Police Regional Office 13, and the 402nd Infantry Brigade.

Teachers were also asked to sign an attendance sheet and a “disaffiliation and pledge of support” to the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

“Despite the rise of Covid19 cases, the worsening problems of blended distance learning and its toll on the physical and mental health of teachers and students, teachers are also being forced to attend a so-called ‘National Security Concern Disaffiliation Activity’ in Butuan City which only red-tagged and tagged as terrorists the regional unions under the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, specifically ACT Caraga Region Union,” Castro said.

“Reports of threats and harassments against members and leaders of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers Region XIII Union would be the next target of trumped up cases if they refuse to denounce their own organization,” she added.

The lawmaker said that information dissemination drives “only spread fake news and vilify and maliciously label legitimate organizations and persons as terrorists.”

“Red-tagging our teachers, their unions and its leaders have no place in our public schools,” she said.

“Ligtas na balik-eskwela ang panawagan ng mga kaguruan, mag-aaral at kanilang mga magulang, hindi face-to-face red-tagging at harassment sa loob ng kanilang mga paaralan!” Castro added.