EDITORIAL - Hazardous profession

Gabriel Canizares now has an elementary school named after him. That honor came dearly for the school principal, who was beheaded by kidnappers in Sulu last month after they failed to collect ransom in exchange for his release. Canizares was 37, one of the few dedicated educators who braved threats to their safety to work at the Kan-aque Elementary School in Patikul town. Education officials said he used his personal funds, however meager, to augment the instructional supplements needed by the teachers in his school.

In the conflict areas of Mindanao, teaching is a hazardous occupation. Seeing them as soft targets, bandits of all stripes seize teachers as human shields or hold them for ransom. Schools are often raided, and many educators have been tortured, mutilated and murdered by the Abu Sayyaf. The educators’ plight has scared away other public school teachers from the conflict areas where education is badly needed.

Now teachers have expressed concern that they could become victims of violence amid heightened tension in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The concern must not be ignored by the government. Armed conflict has already disrupted the education of many children who remain housed in refugee camps in Mindanao. The possible spillover of clan violence as a result of the massacre in Maguindanao could disrupt the education of even more children as teachers fear for their safety.

Additional security forces have been deployed in the ARMM to prevent any outbreak of violence. The aggrieved party in the massacre, the Mangudadatu clan, has vowed not to retaliate against the Ampatuans, who until a few days ago ruled the autonomous region like autocrats in an independent republic. But the possibility of more violence cannot be ruled out, and public education can be among the casualties. When the Moro National Liberation Front launched its full-scale rebellion in Mindanao nearly four decades ago, among its first acts was to take over a university.

With the ARMM now swarming with government forces, schools must be among those given special protection. Though it is impossible to guard every teacher around the clock, security forces must also find ways of promoting the safety of teachers. The danger will not be eliminated, but it’s possible to minimize the risks.