Military presence
Ramos added that youth activists are also being singled out and harassed during “educational forums” held by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in different schools. During the said forums, progressive student organizations are branded by the AFP as “front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines, New People’s Army and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF).”
The AFP singles out the LFS, Student Christian Movement (SCM) and Anakbayan. The AFP, through the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in universities, has conducted these forums at the Philippine Normal University (PNU), Centro Escolar University (CEU), Jose Rizal University (JRU) and University of the Philippines, Diliman (UPD).
Part of these educational forums is a film-showing of a documentary, which tackles the stories of young people “deceived by the CPP-NPA-NDF.” A “former NPA member” in the documentary named Ka May pinpoints the LFS and Anakbayan as legal fronts of the NPA. She then discourages students from joining these organizations saying that her life has been destroyed because she joined these groups, which led her to join the NPA. The documentary ends with a slide show of names and information about “other student-victims of the deceptions of the CPP-NPA-NDF.”
SCM counters this accusation by saying that red baiting has been the “dirty tactic” of the AFP to prevent youth and students from joining their organizations. This ploy, however, will not stop their organizations from moving on with their tasks of exposing the realities of the times and presenting alternatives to the current system, they say. “If the AFP thinks that they can fool youth and students with this forum and documentary, they are wrong,” the group adds.
Meanwhile, these youth groups attest to the presence of military in schools and universities. Their claim is confirmed by a recent incident at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), Sta. Mesa. Four identified members of the Philippine Army were cornered by a mob of enraged students last August 29 after they were caught in the act of spying on the activity being organized by student groups. The messages stored in the cellular phone recovered from the military agents confirmed the intelligence operations the four men were carrying out.
In a statement released by PUP Student Regent Sophia Prado and Ramos, they said that “the presence of military units are meant to monitor student actions, pinpoint the organizations and sow fear inside the campus and ultimately disrupt the student movement.”
Cases of harassment escalate
Recent reports from different youth groups show that there have been alarming cases of harassment among their members. On July 13, TANGGULAN Youth Network for Civil Liberties and Human Rights convened a meeting to gather these reports.
One of the most alarming cases of harassment was experienced by a student of Jose Rizal University (JRU). Ella, a freshman Hotel and Restaurant Management student was reportedly harassed last July allegedly by a military agent who enfolded her in his arms and pointed a knife at her stomach. The incident happened twice, first at Damca in Sta. Mesa and then along Shaw Boulevard. In the second incident, the victim screamed, making her assailant run away.
Meanwhile, a LFS UPD chapter member was discussing national issues with a student she was recruiting when the student asked if they could go somewhere far so they could talk about the matter well. As soon as they were away, the student called “a friend” and said that the person on the line was from ISAFP.
Another case happened to a UP Manila student who, aboard a bus, was threatened allegedly by a military agent who sat beside her. Shaken, the student was not able to do or say anything except “‘Wag po” (Please, don’t).
TANGGULAN along with the victims of political harassments and different youth groups would file a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights on Sept. 15.
