Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago. (Photo by GABRIEL PABICO LALU / INQUIRER.net)
The Makabayan bloc wants the House of Representatives to investigate the alleged “red-tagging of schools” by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
On Monday, the group – composed of left-leaning party-list organizations like Kabataan, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, ACT-Teachers, among others – filed House Resolution No. 2229, asking House Committee on Human Rights to look into AFP’s claim that some Metro Manila universities were being used as recruitment grounds of communists.
In the bill, proponents assert that the state itself is propagating and engaged in terrorist acts as the Human Security Act of 2007 defines terrorism as an act causing “widespread and extraordinary fear”.
Further, it accused the military of spearheading the circulation of images and banners linking youth groups with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
“By tagging school activities as recruitment fronts in their Red October scam, Duterte and the AFP are setting a dangerous precedent to directly, or through administrators, crackdown on student activities and attack the students’ right to organize, freedom of expression, and freedom of associations,” said Kabataan party-list Rep. Sarah Elago in a statement.
The military earlier said the so-called “Red October” is a plan allegedly being hatched by communists and other anti-administration groups to overthrow President Rodrigo Duterte from power.
READ: AFP names Metro schools allegedly organized by Reds for ‘Red October’
Earlier, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Brig. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. particularly named 18 universities, which are allegedly being turned into recruitment grounds of communists.
Elago then criticized Parlade’s comment that communist groups were using film viewings as a way to lure students in joining the rebel group, saying such pronouncement from a military official has a semblance to the martial law regime of President Ferdinand Marcos.
“By hitting on films critical of dictators and tyrants, the Duterte regime wishes to stifle critical thinking and expression through film and art. Duterte is playing straight from the Marcosian playbook, engaging in censorship of films and pronouncements critical of the regime,” she noted.
READ: Artists, filmmakers rage against AFP ‘slander’
Elago likewise condemned alleged “government intimidation and fear-mongering” among students and youth.
She said that on Sept. 11, three armed members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) went to the residence of University of the Philippines student regent Ivy Taroma.
Moreover, Elago expressed doubt on the recent bomb threats in different universities, pointing out that most of the schools that received the threats were also included in the AFP’s list of schools purportedly involved in the plot to destabilize government.
“Kabataan Party-list strongly believes that students being critical of the government and expressing dissent does not equate to terrorist acts,” the resolution said.” The red-tagging and terror tagging of various youth along with other sectors, by the government, endangers the future of our youth.” –Gabriel Pabico Lalu, INQUIRER.net /kga