Teachers in Mindanao fall prey to kidnappers

After more than ten years as a devoted teacher and three years as a principal, Gabriel Canizares will soon have an elementary school in Patikul, Sulu named after him. His family would rather that Gabriel were alive.

Last October, he was kidnapped and killed at the age of 37, even after his family had paid a ransom. It was only the latest in a spate of kidnappings of teachers in some parts of Mindanao that threatens to cripple education in remote, lawless areas, many of them teeming with bandits. But most kidnappings end with the release of hostages, unlike Canizares’ tragic fate. Born and raised in Jolo, the capital of Sulu province, Canizares – or Bong, as his family and friends called him - grew up seeing the effects of conflict on the children of his province and dreamed of serving them as a teacher. After college, the idealist fulfilled his ambition and was assigned to Kan-ague, a community in Patikul, a town not too far from Jolo but many times more dangerous. It’s a rural community where the Abu Sayyaf and other armed groups are often sighted. But it was precisely in impoverished places like Patikul that Bong thought he could make a difference, and perhaps one day help eradicate the roots of violent crime. His family worried constantly, especially because Bong was a rare Christian in a predominantly Muslim community. But with his friendly demeanor, Bong became well-loved by the residents, often seen walking around villages with his trademark black bag and urging out-of-school youths to return to school. In June 2006, he was promoted to principal of Kan-ague Elementary School at the relatively young age of 34. For three years, Bong lived the idyllic life of an educator, modestly paid but hugely compensated by the warmth of his host community. But in the afternoon of October 19, 2009, what Bong’s family feared most happened. Armed men believed to be Abu Sayyaf bandits blocked the passenger jeepney Bong was riding and took him away. Tragic fate The next few days saw the Canizareses frantically trying to raise the PhP2 million-ransom (about US$9,500) the kidnappers demanded, an amount equal to eight years of Gabriel’s gross salary. But his family was only able to send PhP150,000 to the kidnappers. On November 9, exactly three weeks after he was kidnapped, a sack was found in Patikul’s gas station. Inside was Gabriel’s black bag, which contained his head. It would be six days later before his headless remains were found buried in a bushy area in an isolated village, a few meters away from the site where he was abducted. In a statement released to the media, the Department of Education (DepEd) said, “The entire DepEd family is shocked and grieves with the family of one of our best-performing principals. A key catalyst in teacher trainings with non-government organization Synergia in Sulu, Canizares is a great loss to efforts to improve the quality of education of our children in the area." The DepEd recently announced that Kan-ague Elementary School will soon be renamed Canizares Elementary School. As of this posting, his killers have not been caught. Easy prey Canizares was the seventh teacher to fall prey to kidnappers this year. On January 23, three teachers from Landangua Elementary School in Zamboanga City were kidnapped by armed men on board a boat. They were released on May 26. But even before their release, three more teachers from Bangkaw-Bangkaw Elementary School in Naga town in Zamboanga Sibugay were abducted on March 13. They were released after six months of being held captive somewhere in the jungles of Basilan. Ransom was reportedly paid for their release. Curiously, teachers are among the lowest paid professionals in the government yet are targets of kidnap-for-ransom gangs. “Teachers are easy prey - helpless, visible and unprotected," says Jose Torres Jr., author of the book Into the Mountain: Hostaged by the Abu Sayyaf. They also work in remote areas, like priests, social workers, journalists, and even jeepney drivers who are also being kidnapped. All of the above are professions not known for swelling the bank accounts of their practitioners. But like priests and journalists, teachers make appealing targets because they make the news when they’re kidnap victims. With media attention, hostages become high-profile cases, encouraging kidnappers to raise the price for their return, Torres adds. Preparing for the worst After the series of kidnappings of his colleagues, Abelardo Brutas, principal of Lubigan National High School in Zamboanga City, would have armed himself by now, if he could only afford a gun His daily routine of travelling to and from the school on a motorcycle takes 45 minutes. In short, he is vulnerable to kidnappers. A Bicol native, Brutas moved to Zamboanga City years ago when he saw an opportunity to teach there. With two bachelor degrees and a master’s degree from a university in Manila, he was quickly hired for the position he was eyeing. But while Brutas is passionate about his profession, he wants to stay alive. “I’m afraid. If there’s another option for me somewhere else, I’d go," he said. “No matter how much you love the place but if your life is constantly at risk, you will really begin to think twice about staying." Brutas’ sentiment is echoed widely by other teachers. Benjo Basas, national chairman of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition, says that these kidnapping incidents discourage teachers from serving in remote villages. “Nobody will teach. Children there will not be educated, which in the long term may become one of the reasons for them to rebel, or worse, to become bandits themselves," Basas said. “This could be a bad cycle." With elections next year, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is bracing for more kidnappings, a lucrative source of campaign funds. AFP spokesman Lt. Col Romeo Brawner says the military and the police have been tightening security around schools and along roads leading to schools in arwas in Mindanao where kidnappings are rife. The effort has produced several successful stories of foiled kidnapping incidents. “But, of course, it’s hard to [watch over] each person 24 hours a day," Brawner stated. He added that military and police work in Sulu and other areas in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is more difficult than elsewhere because kidnappers enjoy civilian support from relatives in the area who are often given a share of the ransom. Thus, Brawner observed, the fight can’t be done solely by government forces. He’s appealing to civilians to help protect teachers, because exposing them to harm will deprive children in remote communities of their only chance at an education. The village of Kan-ague in Patikul, Sulu knows this only too well. When its tiny school is renamed Canizares Elementary School, the community will have gained a memorial. But it lost a devoted teacher forever. - FVI/HGS/ GMANews.TV Claire Delfin is a television news reporter of GMA Network, Inc. and is a regular contributor of special reports on women, children, education, health, and the environment to the network’s news web site GMANews.TV.