MANILA, Philippines – The on-going war in Marawi has made life difficult for children in Lanao del Sur.
As close to 28 million students nationwide trooped back to public schools on Monday, hundreds of children in that province in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao were forced to stay home amid the sounds of firing guns and exploding bombs.
“Hindi po hundred percent na pumasok mga bata. Kasi ‘yong ibang parents dumating sila to inform us na hindi dumating mga pupils…kasi natatakot sila kasi malakas ung bomba dito, naririnig kagabi masyadong marami ‘yong mga bomba,” said Anisha Pagalawad, principal of Pantar Elementary School, which is just about 10 kilometers away from Marawi, where clashes between Maute rebels and government troops continue.
[The attendance of children was not 100 percent. Their parents arrived to inform us that the pupils could not go to school because they were afraid of the sound of many exploding bombs that they heard last night.]
The violence sowed by the Maute Group in Marawi had prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in the whole of Mindanao on May 23. The chief executive linked the Maute attacks to the Islamic State and later on said the rebellion in Mindanao was “purely ISIS.”
The armed conflict has affected 69 schools in Marawi, according to Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones.
Despite continuing threats and terror that resulted in the death of 188 people, including 30 civilians as of Saturday, Norphipa Alamada of Pantar town said she still allowed her children to attend school.
“Pinapasok namin sila kahit nakakatakot kami para sa kinabukasan ng mga anak namin [Even though we’re afraid, we allowed them to attend school because it’s for the future of our children],” said Alamada.
Ashleya Macapaar, a mother who evacuated from Marawi with her family, also allowed her children to go to school.
“Kahit may gulo…dito at least may alam pa rin sila hindi ‘yong na-stuck sila sa evacuation center na mas lalo lang silang matatakot [Even if it’s chaotic here, at least they still learn something instead of being stuck at the evacuation center where they will become more frightened.]
Macaapar’s children were among the war-affected students from Marawi who were allowed by the DepEd to transfer to nearby schools outside of the Islamic city without report cards and other requirements for enrollment.
Earlier, the DepEd moved the opening of classes in Marawi to June 19 to ensure the safety of the city’s students, teachers, and school staffers.
But Briones is now unsure on whether classes in Marawi would resume on the said date.
“We are waiting for their advice kung talagang matutuloy [if it would really push through] within two weeks. But the way things are…the extension might be longer…baka tatagal ang clearing operations even if mabawi na ang Marawi [the clearing operations might take time even if they already got back Marawi from the enemies],” Briones said on Tuesday, June 6, referring to the recommendation that would come from concerned government officials including National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon.
Briones encouraged families who had evacuated Marawi to enroll their children in nearby areas outside the Lanao del Sur capital so there would be “a move towards normalization.”
A total of 1,391 students from Marawi were able to transfer to schools outside of the city, according to the DepEd chief.
