TECHNICAL Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General
Joel Villanueva has strongly condemned the killing of a teacher in General
Santos, calling it an affront against the country's heroes of knowledge and
values.
Villanueva also called on authorities to act with dispatch in
investigating the
incident to bring the perpetrators before the bar of justice.
"We condemn in the strong terms the killing of Marlon Oraes, a teacher at the
National School of Arts and Trade of TESDA. A genuine public servant, who has
devoted his time to building the foundation of knowledge and values of. our
children, Oraes doesn't deserve this fate," Villanueva said.
Oraes, 40, was shot and killed last Monday by two men aboard a
motorcycle at the
Dona Soledad Subdivision in Labangal town, General Santos City. He was
rushed to
the St. Elizabeth Hospital but died due to the bullet wound he sustained at his
back.
Oraes, who has been teaching for 17 years, had no enemies, according to his
family.
"As a field worker before, I know the job in TESDA requires a lot. I
understand
the kind of affinity that teachers are able to forge with their trainees.
There's no room for being dispassionate about their job," Villanueva said.
"That's why I am saddened with the news, and every time I hear about the same
fate that befalls our teachers," he added.
Villanueva called on the police looking into the incident to be thorough in
their work to hunt down the perpetrators to bring justice to the family of
Oraes.
"Every day that passes without justice to the family of Oraes can send chills
to our educators who may think they are in the same perilous situation,"
Villanueva said.
Share this page
