Pro-Duterte parents red-tag PUP as communist recruiters’ den

MANILA, Philippines — A day after protesting at the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman, another group supportive of the Duterte administration staged another rally in front of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), calling the school a “den of communist recruiters.”

In a video taken on Friday, the group League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) brought with them placards and banners denouncing students’ groups’ plans to stage an academic strike to protest the administration’s alleged incompetent response to the rash of calamities.

LPP vice president Julius Ursula said that their group, which has been critical of left-leaning groups that they alleged to be linked with the communist armed movement, is protesting PUP’s involvement in such plans.

“Kami po ay nandito sa unibersidad na kung saan pagmamay-ari ng ating gobyerno.  Nandirito po kami para po kundenahin ang ginagawa po nilang boycott, at online walkout, at may kasama pang Oust Duterte na ginagawa ng mga animal,” Ursula said during their protest at PUP’s campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

(We are here in front of this university owned by the government. We are here to condemn the activities these animals are doing like boycotting classes, online walkouts, and calls to oust President Duterte.)

“Kasama po namin ang mga magulang na kung saan sila po ang magpapatunay kung ano pong kalokohan, kung ano po ang kalakaran dyan sa loob ng eskwelahang ito.  Ito pong eskwelahang ito ay isa sa mga lungga, isa sa mga bahay ng mga recruiter ng CPP-NPA-NDF,” he added.

(We are joined by parents who can attest to deceptions and the system being employed inside this school.  This school is one of the dens, one of the houses of the recruiters for CPP-NPA-NDF.)

The CPP-NPA-NDF is the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front — whom the group accuses of being in control of legal activist groups like Anakbayan, League of Filipino Students, Kabataan party-list, and others.

Ursula mentioned Anakbayan in particular. He said the group is an evil organization in disguise.

On Thursday, the Liga Independencia Pilipinas trooped to UP Diliman, only to be stopped along C.P. Garcia Avenue as they do not have the permit to rally.  The group slammed the UP administration’s decision, saying that it unfairly treated them and favored only the progressive groups and activists.

The group was protesting against academic strike proposals, which were first initiated by Ateneo de Manila students frustrated with the government’s response to the calamities.  However, President Rodrigo Duterte during his speech on Tuesday wrongly attributed the academic strike calls to UP.

But Sociology Prof. Gerardo Lanuza, PhD., said on Friday that the pro-Duterte groups cannot enter the UP Diliman campus as their protests’ messages violate the university’s principles.

Aside from that, Lanuza stressed that all student organizations allowed to protest within the UP campus — whether left-leaning or rightist groups — secure permission from the UP administration first.

Lanuza’s claim coincides with the recent statement of UP Diliman Chancellor Fidel Nemenzo, who said that the campus is “no place for intolerance, bigotry, and red-tagging” — instead, it is a “safe haven for civilized and intelligent discourse.”

As for the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), one of the groups often tagged as fronts of the communist movement, such parents are not welcome in schools as all they do is to red-tag students in these educational institutions.

“League of Parents of the Philippines is not welcome in schools. Aside from being Duterte’s state-backed peddler of disinformation, all they do is red-tagging and attacking the youth using their old and cheap narrative to dismiss the legitimate concerns of the youth,” CEGP said. [ac]