A students' group hit the presence of armed cops inside a school in Pangasinan during the implementation of pilot face-to-face classes on Monday, Nov. 15.
Under the Department of Education's (DepEd) policy for Schools as Zone of Peace, schools should be free from the presence of "armed combatants, whether they be from the government or armed groups."
"The education sector does not need added guns, police mobiles, and militarization; they should prioritize giving medical solutions such as having medics at standby," College of Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) Deputy Secretary-General Regina Tolentino said in a statement.
CEGP made the statement after some armed police officers were seen in a classroom in Longos Elementary School in Barangay Pangpisan in Alaminos City, Pangasinan where limited physical classes was held again for the first time in nearly two years.
"The Filipino youth have had enough of book purging deemed as 'subversive', campus militarization, intimidation, and repression under the Duterte administration. It is high time to stop all forms of attacks," Tolentino continued.
"What was supposed to be only a measure against COVID-19 became the typical Filipinos nightmare as killings and violations of our implementers are everywhere," she added.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, DepEd said that the armed uniform personnel were part of the security brought by a provincial official who visited the school.
READ MORE: DepEd: Police seen inside a pilot face-to-face school part of local exec’s security
On Monday, thousands of Filipino children returned to face-to-face classes after nearly two years of school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.