By DANIELA MAURICIO
Bulatlat.com
After consulting its member-associations, the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) has officially withdrawn membership from the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
The decision announced on February 2 aims to uphold COCOPEA’s independence and to strengthen academic freedom while maintaining dialogue with the task force on shared concerns.
COCOPEA said that on January 30, 2025, it formally requested Marcos Jr to withdraw its membership from NTF-ELCAC. The organization stressed that its role in promoting education would be best served outside the formal structure of the task force. “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.”
Established in 1981, COCOPEA is an umbrella organization that represents around 1,500 private schools nationwide. It seeks to promote academic freedom, ensure quality education, and support holistic growth of higher education institutions (HEIs).
Complete separation urged
Progressive groups welcomed COCOPEA’s withdrawal but urged the latter to sever all ties with NTF-ELCAC instead.
Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raoul Manuel said that the move was “a step in the right direction” but he warned that merely withdrawing from the task force is not enough. “There is no place for agencies that put students and teachers in danger within our educational institutions.”
He criticized NTF-ELCAC’s presence in schools because it enables red-tagging, surveillance of student organizations, and the harassment of progressive faculty members. Manuel also denounced the arbitrary labeling of educational materials as “subversive,” calling it a form of censorship. “It is unacceptable to use schools as an extension of the government’s counter-insurgency operations. Our schools should be safe spaces for learning, critical thinking, and democratic discourse.”
Manuel urged COCOPEA to go further by implementing clear policies against red-tagging and the militarization of education.
Anakbayan Chairperson Mhing Gomez said that public outcry played a role in COCOPEA’s decision but insisted that more needs to be done. “Unity, peace, security, and progress are nowhere in ELCAC’s mission or vocabulary. Its only role in schools is to trample on academic freedom, red-tag, conduct surveillance, or, worse, carry out abductions.”
The organization urged COCOPEA to completely cut ties with the task force, stressing that NTF-ELCAC’s presence in educational institutions has led to repeated cases of intimidation, harassment, and threats to academic freedom.
Activists have long condemned COCOPEA’s affiliation with NTF-ELCAC, citing its alleged involvement in human rights violations. Gomez pointed to the unresolved cases of Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro who were reportedly abducted, as well as the killing of volunteer teacher Chad Booc which progressive groups described as a massacre. They also accused the task force of filing fabricated cases against progressive organizations and activists.
“Let us remember that the ELCAC and the military have yet to be held accountable for the abduction of Jhed and Jonila, the massacre of Teacher Chad, and the filing of fabricated cases against various socio-civic organizations and progressive individuals,” Gomez said.
“We urge COCOPEA to take this a step further by severing all ties with NTF-ELCAC. It would appear half-hearted in upholding academic freedom if we continue to collaborate with the primary threat to it. Furthermore, schools should implement clear policies against red-tagging and the militarization of education,” Manuel said. (DAA, RVO)
