Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Thursday said the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) seemed to be setting a “trap” for the government to revive peace talks with communist rebels.

The education secretary made the statement following calls from ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro for an independent probe by forensic experts on the March 22 clash at a nearby school in Barangay Locso-on in Placer town that injured two soldiers.

In a statement, Duterte said that the call to verify reports only proves the “duplicity” of the ACT Teachers.

“I am glad that France Castro confirmed that ACT Teachers is, without a doubt, a fake representative of learners, educators, and other members of the education sector in Congress with her continued refusal to publicly and explicitly condemn the New People’s Army’s violence in Masbate,” Duterte said.

“That ACT Teachers is a sham and truly does not represent the education sector in Congress was even validated by her call for ‘forensic experts’ and the Commission on Human Rights to ‘see the real perpetrators of the gun firing near the schools’,” she added.

Duterte said Castro’s remarks intend to cast a doubt on official reports on the Masbate incident.

“It’s no longer surprising that Castro would insinuate that government forces were behind the March 22 bomb explosion in Locso-an that wounded two government soldiers,” she said.

Duterte was referring to reports of a sighting of NPA elements in a nearby school in Barangay Locso-an, Placer town.

She noted that instead of responding to her challenge to “publicly condemn the NPA,” Castro somehow came up with the idea of reopening peace talks.

“No, the Masbate violence does not highlight the need for the resumption of the peace talks… May I respectfully warn the Marcos administration not to fall into this trap,” the vice president said.

The education chief insisted that peace negotiation efforts are meaningless when it comes to terrorist groups, which “thirst” for the blood of their fellow Filipinos.

In the end, the education chief urged the public to cooperate with the government to ensure the welfare of learners.

“It highlights the need for our collective effort as a nation to protect our learners from threats brought by groups like the NPA,” she said.

The education secretary earlier called out the “diversionary” approach of the ACT group amid terrorist attacks in Masbate, as it came up with suggestions to hire 30,000 teachers and allot PHP100 billion annually for the building of classrooms.

The Department of Education (DepEd), meanwhile, assured the public it will address problems in the education sector through traditional and innovative solutions.

For this school year, around 9,650 teaching personnel are expected to be hired, according to the DepEd. (PNA)