City-funded university also Red-tagged

MANILA, Philippines — The city-funded Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila decried on Monday the military’s latest attempt to label the university as a recruitment center for communist rebels, saying it was an “insult to the school’s distinguished faculty, staff and dedicated students.”

“This allegation is a serious disservice to the men and women of the PLM and comes at a very bad time when its faculty, students and staff are struggling with the challenges of online education,” the school’s president, Emmanuel Leyco, said in a statement.

“Such distraction in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic is indeed reprehensible,” he said.

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict recently identified PLM as a recruitment hub of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its military wing, New People’s Army (NPA).

All classes online

Leyco said the university had no knowledge of any recruitment by the CPP-NPA on campus, pointing out that all PLM classes were held online. No authority has also advised PLM of such activities, he said.

“We are studying our legal options. In the meantime, we shall remain focused on addressing the online learning issues and preparing for the next semester,” he told the Inquirer.

Leyco said the PLM faculty, staff, students and alumni were known for their passion and public service. They include government officials and the new doctors who chose to serve as the Manila local government’s front-liners against the new coronavirus disease, he said.

PLM, he said, shall continue to uphold the rights and faculty of students to “pursue knowledge with the full protection of their inalienable rights to academic freedom.” INQ