“We are already exhausted, and our mental health was unstable, yet they just added to the burden.”
CAGAYAN DE ORO — A public school head expressed her strong denunciation as she narrated the recent series of surveillance by alleged state agents to some teachers in Pitogo, Zamboanga del Sur.
“If they won’t stop red-tagging, profiling, tailing, harassing, and intimidating us, we will file a case,” Liza Idiang, chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Zamboanga Peninsula Region, told Bulatlat in an interview.
Idiang, a public school head at Balongbalong Elementary School in Pitogo town, said the surveillance started on July 25, when two individuals who introduced themselves as personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) went to her residence, asking for her whereabouts.
Since she was in Pagadian City that time, the alleged police personnel proceeded to the residence of another teacher, asking if they were planning to stage a protest action for the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and if the latter was recruited by Idiang to join ACT.
The residence of another ACT Zamboanga Peninsula member in Pitogo, Idiang said, was also allegedly visited by state agents.
Another person who also introduced himself as police personnel visited Idiang’s house on July 26. This time, she was able to confront the person. The latter allegedly uttered red-tagging remarks against their organization.
“If this is not the right time for you to express your concerns and demands, for us, this is the right time. You are not blind or deaf to not know all of the happenings in our country today,” Idiang told Bulatlat in the vernacular, as she recalled what she said to the alleged police.
Later that day, another alleged state agent went to Idiang’s house, apologizing as he was the one who shared the information about a possible protest that was supposed to be led by Idiang.
However, the surveillance did not stop there. On July 27, the day of the SONA, some teachers in Balongbalong Elementary School displayed their tarpaulins that highlighted their calls for salary increase and education funding. On that day, the teachers’ rights advocate said two individuals who introduced themselves as members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU), an auxiliary force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), entered the school premises, asking about their activities.
Teachers of Balongbalong Elementary School in Pitogo, Zamboanga del Sur, pose for a group photo holding their campaign materials that highlight their demands ahead of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address on July 27, 2026. Contributed photo
Idiang said suspected state agents allegedly continued their surveillance until July 30.
“They are the ones who further damaged our mental health. We are already exhausted, and our mental health was unstable, yet they just added to the burden,” she said in the vernacular.
Bulatlat sent an email to Police Regional Office 9 to ask for comment, but there is no response as of this writing.
Read:#HandsOffOurTeachers | Alliance mulls filing charges against police
In a statement, ACT Philippines condemned the harassment, highlighting the negative impacts of these continuing surveillance and intimidation on the lives, liberty, and security of teachers who were just exercising their rights.
The group further stressed that such incidents contradict Executive Order 97 (Adopting the Omnibus Guidelines on the Exercise of Freedom of Association and Civil Liberties) issued by Marcos Jr. last year.
“The government should direct its resources toward prosecuting corrupt officials, plunderers, and those responsible for the wholesale misuse of public funds. Those who steal from the Filipino people should be the objects of relentless pursuit, not those courageously asserting legitimate democratic demands,” said Ruby Bernardo, ACT Philippines chairperson.
The teachers’ alliance called on the Department of Education to defend their teachers’ right to organize. It also urged the Civil Service Commission and the Commission on Human Rights to launch an independent investigation and hold those responsible accountable. (RVO)
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