EDITORIAL - Murder in a classroom

This looks like another case of unexplained killing and, worse, one that is being ignored by those tasked to solve crimes. Or at least that is the lament of relatives and friends of Loida Pagatpat. The 59-year-old public school teacher was reportedly in front of her grade school class in Palanas, Masbate last Feb. 3 when a gunman barged in and shot her in front of her students.

No arrests have been made, and Pagatpat’s relatives and colleagues have condemned the lack of progress in the investigation of the case. A reward of P100,000 has been put up by the teacher’s family for information leading to the identification of the killer. The family said another teacher was stabbed dead also inside a classroom earlier this year in Masbate.

A group called the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition is urging the government to provide better protection for educators particularly in areas with a history of armed conflict and violent crime like Masbate. The lament is valid. Teachers are prime targets of kidnapping in the lawless areas of Mindanao. The Abu Sayyaf in particular has murdered, raped and held hostage scores of teachers in the conflict zones, disrupting education in places where it is most needed.

In the past decades, long hours and modest pay for teachers have made Filipinos shun a career in education. The nation’s teaching force has also suffered from the exodus of those who seek better pay overseas, even if it means working as maids. Pay scales in the public school system have remained low despite the fact that education gets the largest share of the annual national appropriation after debt payments. Of the amount, salaries account for the biggest chunk of education funds.

If the government’s ability to improve teachers’ pay is limited, it should improve its protection of the teaching force at least within school premises. Failing in that, the gov-ernment should be able to give justice to teachers who become victims of armed conflict. The killer of Pagatpat must be caught and brought to justice.