A TEACHERS’ group denounced in the strongest terms the proposal to make military service a requirement for all Filipinos by vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte.

Faculty at the University of the Philippines under the Congress of Teachers/Educators for Nationalism and Democracy called on the public to outright reject Duterte in the coming 2022 elections for her militaristic tendencies that do not depart from the policies of her father, President Duterte.

“As educators, we encourage our students to think critically and to question everything around them, even their teachers. We criticize the unquestioning obedience fostered by the AFP as an institution. It would be nightmarish to force all Filipinos, especially the youth, to participate in a flawed military organization that has blind obedience and human rights violations as its hallmark,” said CONTEND spokesperson Lakan Umali.

The group asserted there are many ways to foster discipline and nationalism among the youth without the military further encroaching in civilian life.

“Instead of giving a blank check for counter-insurgency, the state should provide better funding to health, educational, artistic, sports, and cultural institutions so that young Filipinos can participate in a wide variety of fruitful activities without the looming presence of the military,” Umali added.

Umali emphasized the role of the Philippine military as an instrument to brutally quell Filipino anti-colonial resistance during the American colonial period and dissent especially during the Marcos dictatorship and now under the Duterte regime.

He cited documentation by rights group Karapatan from 2016-2021 of 424 extrajudicial killings of activists, 18 forced disappearances, 223 cases of torture, and thousands of cases of bombings, harassment, indiscriminate firing, and the use of school grounds for military activities.

CONTEND also asserts the erosion of legitimacy of civilian rule in the Philippines under the Duterte regime must not be allowed to continue for six more years.

“Considering the massive failure of the militarized response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot allow the continued supremacy of the military in nearly every aspect of governance and public life,” said UP Professor and CONTEND member Karlo Mongaya.

“Sara Duterte projects herself as a rebel going against the wishes of her father to avoid being smeared by the sins of the present administration. But she has benefited from that fascist rule and even seeks to continue it. We call all students, academic workers, and the general public to reject Sara Duterte’s perpetuation of her father’s unfettered militarization of our communities,” said Mongaya.