The reported withdrawal of around 150 Chinese volunteer and dispatched teachers from Chinese-language schools across the Philippines is deeply concerning.
At the same time, Filipino teachers working in China are also part of the educational and cultural exchanges that connect our two countries. Their work, like that of Chinese teachers in the Philippines, should not be subjected to blanket suspicion or treated as a security threat simply because of their nationality or the country where they teach.
According to reports, the Chinese teachers are being returned to China amid heightened security scrutiny of Chinese-linked educational exchanges, following warnings by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. that academic and educational exchanges with China could potentially be used for intelligence gathering.
We reject the growing securitisation of education, culture and people-to-people exchanges.
Chinese teachers are educators, not spies. Filipino teachers in China are educators, not agents of a foreign power. Chinese-language education is not a national-security threat. Academic and cultural exchanges should not be treated as extensions of military or intelligence operations simply because they involve China.
The Philippines must not allow the United States-China strategic rivalry to turn our schools, universities and communities into another arena of geopolitical confrontation.
If there are genuine and specific security concerns, these should be addressed through evidence-based investigations and appropriate safeguards—not through blanket suspicion of Chinese nationals, Filipino teachers in China, Chinese-language education or legitimate educational cooperation.
PLM also calls attention to the double standard at work. The Philippines hosts extensive military, security, academic and technological cooperation with the United States and other foreign powers. Yet exchanges involving China are increasingly being viewed through the lens of espionage and national security.
Whose security are we defending?
The Philippines must pursue an independent foreign policy based on national sovereignty and the interests of the Filipino people—not become a frontline state in the geopolitical rivalry of great powers.
PLM stands for peace, international solidarity, academic freedom and genuine people-to-people cooperation.
No to Sinophobia.
No to the militarisation of education.
No to using our schools as battlegrounds for great-power rivalry.
Yes to protecting Filipino teachers in China and Chinese teachers in the Philippines.
Yes to independent foreign policy and people-to-people solidarity.
PAKIKIBAKA PARA SA SOBERANYA.
PAKIKIBAKA PARA SA KAPAYAPAAN.
October 5, 2026
