By Aaron Ernest Cruz

Bulatlat.com

MANILA – Raven Racelis, University of Santo Tomas (UST) philosophy student and member of Kabataan Partylist, has been subjected to online harassment after she expressed her disappointment on the research colloquium in their university where formers member of National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) linked progressive youth groups to New Peoples’ Army (NPA) without basis.

In an interview with Bulatlat, Racelis shared that speakers from NTF-ELCAC labeled the study of Philippine social realities as well as immersion in peasant and workers communities as “terror grooming.”

“It is clear that the goal of the government is to instill fear among the youth so they will be discouraged to assert and exercise their rights to join protests as a way to amplify the call to end corruption and demand for higher quality education, and address other issues that students are facing,” said Ravelis.

Racelis was red-tagged online for speaking her mind. Red-tagging is a form of maliciously labeling someone as communists or terrorists. In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court declared that red-tagging, vilification, labelling, and guilt by association threaten a person’s right to life, liberty, or security. 

Ravelis is not alone. There have been other cases of harassment and intimidation since the September 21 massive anti-corruption protest. Scores of student leaders were issued subpoena by the police and several others were arrested and detained during the said protest.

“Despite the fear that the state wants to instill on us, they just proved that protesting against corruption is just and the right thing to do,” Racelis asserted. “We also encourage the youth to further exercise their academic freedom through joining national democratic mass organizations to fully learn the social realities of the Philippines.” 

Academic crisis

On International Students’ Day this November 17, 2025, progressive youth marched to Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) bridge to condemn repression and reiterate their demand to end corruption. 

Kabataan Partylist member Hayme Alegre pointed out the  P1.28 trillion ($21.7 billion) allocated budget for education is not enough to address the root causes of the educational crisis in the Philippines.

“The Philippines is prone to tropical cyclones that cause heavy rainfall and flooding. Schools are the most vulnerable to damages especially in rural areas yet the billions of flood-control projects that may help to lessen the damages are stolen by these corrupt politicians,” Alegre complained.

In a statement, Anakbayan linked corruption with their sectoral issues, “The issue of a corrupt system cannot be separated from all the hardships and experiences of young people in their respective schools and communities, from the high cost of goods and poverty in schools, to the destruction of the environment and the frequent flooding.”

The group blamed both Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte for the recent corruption issues, accusing the two of accepting kickbacks from contractors involved in corruption. 

“The entire anti-corruption campaign of the Marcos regime was false and fake. It cannot be denied that Marcos and Duterte themselves were involved in and promoted this corrupt practice. They represent the worst forms of bureaucratic-capitalism and should both be held accountable,” the statement read.

In a report by PCIJ, Marcos Jr received campaign donations of P21 million ($1,140,970.11) from Rudhil Construction and Enterprise Inc. and P1 million ($17,009.84) from Cebu-based Quirante Construction Corporation.

Meanwhile, Sara Duterte received P19.9 million ($1,081,205.01) from Glenn Escandor who has ties with Esdevco Realty Corp and owned Genesis88 Construction Inc – that won a major government contract on flood-control projects in Davao region.

Racelis explained that students and youth should strive to fight against corruption since it affects access to education. 

“After all, the call of the youth is to make all corrupt politicians accountable, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte should evict their posts,” Racelis said.