24/01/2026
๐๐๐จ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ง!
This 24th of January, the United Nations (UN) marked the International Day of Education to celebrate the power of education in promoting peace and sustainable development. However, the status quo of education has become a site of struggle. It worsened the crisis that the Philippines is facing, wherein education became inaccessible and utilized it as a tool for elite preservation under the current regime rather than as a weapon for the liberation of the people.
Under the standards imposed by countries in the Global North, development is narrowly defined through economic growth, particularly the achievement of metrics such as gross domestic product (GDP). In contrast, countries in the Global South were long subjected to poverty, inequality, and exploitation - envisioning the concept of development that transcends mere economic expansion, framing it as a process of liberation from colonial, neoliberal, and other oppressive structures.
The current crisis in education is a deliberate byproduct of bureaucrat capitalism. The US-Marcos regime views the national treasury as a private chest for dynastic expansion and the Department of Education as a machinery for state propaganda.
Under the guise of "educational reform," we see the systematic distortion of history. A desperate attempt by the ruling clique to erase the bloody legacy of the Martial Law era and the human rights atrocities of the previous Duterte administration. By weaponizing the curriculum, the state seeks to produce a generation of youth who are stripped of their historical memory and critical faculty. Furthermore, the militarization of our campuses and the relentless red-tagging of student leaders and faculty members reveal the regime's fear: it knows that a conscious and educated youth is the greatest threat to its fascist rule. Schools are being transformed into surveillance hubs where dissent is criminalized, reflecting the state's prioritization of "national security" over the intellectual and social security of the people.
The crisis of education cannot be separated from the broader issue of semi-colonial and semi-feudal conditions of the country. Under a semi-colonial setup, education is shaped to serve foreign interests, producing cheap, docile labor for export through the labor export policy. At the same time, the persistent semi-feudal structures in the rural communities intensifies the inaccessibility of education to the children and youth. The widespread poverty rooted in landlessness, low wages, and chronic unemployment forces the children of peasants and workers to be deprived of higher education in order to work just to survive.
In response to the current educational struggle, ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐, ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐-๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฑ (๐ก๐ฆ๐ ๐ข) ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฝ๐ต๐ผ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ป๐ฒ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐. However, we must recognize that the struggle for a nationalist, scientific, and mass-oriented education cannot be won through polite appeals to a government that is fundamentally deaf to the people's cries. The contradictions within our society have sharpened; while the ruling class indulges in lavish travels and confidential fund-scams, the Filipino student is left to rot in overcrowded classrooms or drop out due to economic strangulation.
The education crisis is inextricably linked to the struggle of the workers for a living wage and the peasants for genuine land reform. As long as the basic sectors are oppressed, education will remain a privilege of the few. Therefore, the call to oust the Marcos-Duterte regime is not merely a call for a change in leadership, but a rejection of the entire corrupt, puppet system they represent. We must intensify the movement to hold this regime accountable. There can be no genuine development under a leadership that survives on plunder and blood. To defend the right to education is to join the broad masses in the struggle to dismantle the fascist structures that bind the nation.
๐ข๐ป ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ผ๐ฝ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐๐ผ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ผ๐บ. ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐: ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ผ๐ฟ. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐น๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ธ๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐น๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
The struggle for our right to education is a struggle for our future. We will not be silenced by red-tagging, nor will we be bought by empty promises of "unity." We call on all students to organize, mobilize, and join the ranks of the people in demanding an end to this oppressive regime.
Caption by Michaela Sison and Briand Ayang
Pub by Hannah Rivera
