SENATOR Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, said the New People’s Army (NPA) has resumed its recruitment activities, particularly in schools under the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
During the resumption of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs inquiry into the continuous radicalization and recruitment of students in educational institutions to the local communist terrorist groups, Dela Rosa, the panel’s chairperson, said the recruitment efforts of the communist group stopped under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
“Noong nag-imbestiga tayo nito, medyo huminto sila sa pag-re-recruit, medyo kumalma, medyo natakot. Ngayong nagbago ang administration parang tila lumakas na naman 'yung loob nila. Nand'yan na naman sila nagre-recruit,” he said.
(When we investigated this before, they somewhat stopped recruiting; they calmed down a bit and seemed a bit scared. Now that the administration has changed, it seems like they've regained their confidence. They're recruiting again.)
“I'm sure very active na naman 'yang mga kabataan 'yung mga student organizations, very active na mga 'yan sila sa recruitment. Hindi lang student kundi pati labor sector,” he added.
(I'm sure those youth groups and student organizations are very active in recruitment again. It's not just students but also the labor sector.)
Dela Rosa raised the need to unmask the modus operandi of the NPA in exploiting student rights and welfare, and how it uses as a shield the constitutionally enshrined academic freedom to radicalize and recruit students and teachers.
He noted that some of those involved in recruitment are disguising as legitimate student organizations or even university professors.
Dela Rosa said the fight against radicalization is not only a matter of national security but also a moral imperative to build a safer, more inclusive and more hopeful nation for the youth.
He sought the help of school authorities in profiling their students to identify those who are more prone to being recruited.
Dela Rosa said students who are intelligent and shy but show little anger to the world are the targets of NPA recruitment.
He said recruiters are roaming around the campus and observing those who are “very ripe for the picking.”
“Alam ninyo, based doon sa sinasabi ng mga nag-surrender na mga recruiter na mga New People’s Army, if you profile your students, dapat kayong mga guidance counselor ng eskwelahan magaling din na profiler. I-profile ninyo ang mga estudyante ninyo. ‘Pag nakita ninyo ang isang estudyante na medyo matalino, medyo tahimik tapos medyo parang galit sa mundo, ‘yan ang napakadaling i-recruit doon na magiging extremist,” Dela Rosa said.
(You know, based on what the surrendered recruiters from the New People's Army have said, if you profile your students, you school guidance counselors should also be good at profiling. Profile your students. If you see a student who is somewhat intelligent, a bit quiet, and seems a bit angry at the world, that's someone who is very easy to recruit and might become an extremist.)
“So dapat sana ‘yung mga counselor ninyo sa campus, i-identify agad ‘yung mga estudyante na ito at kausapin na agad, bigyan ng right counseling, dahil ang dali itong i-recruit,” he added.
(So your campus counselors should immediately identify these students, talk to them right away, and provide the right counseling, because they are easy to recruit.)
Recruiter?
Self-confessed former NPA recruiter Kate Raca tagged Kabataan Representative Raoul Manuel in the recruitment efforts.
“[Taong] 2017 is magkasama kaming nagre-recruit sa UP (University of the Philippines). Siya as student regent tapos ako as Alay Sining UP-Diliman...'Yun 'yung tasking niya as member ng communist party,” she said.
(In 2017, we were recruiting together at UP. He was the student regent, and I was with Alay Sining UP-Diliman. That was his task as a member of the communist party.)
Another resource person, Arian Jane Ramos, said she facilitated Manuel's transportation to an NPA camp for their “revolutionary integration” in 2017.
This was affirmed by Ida Marie Montero, former secretary of the sub-region of Southern Mindanao Region.
Montero, however, said that Manuel was not persuaded to become a full-time NPA member because he was not ready, but he promised to help them with other tasks, including recruitment activities.
Dela Rosa said they will invite Manuel to shed light on the matter.
Data
Based on the record of the Philippine National Police (PNP), 168 students were recruited to join communist terrorist groups from 2014 to 2024.
Of this figure, 123 students were recruited in colleges and universities, 34 were high school students, and 11 were from elementary schools.
The PNP said 33 of the 168 students died in police operations, while 42 were arrested and 93 surrendered to authorities.
The Putian National High School in Cuartero in Capiz has the most number of recruited students, followed by UP-Diliman, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Manila, UP-Manila, and UP-Tacloban.
The National Security Council earlier said the NPA was left with 11 ‘weakened’ guerrilla fronts, with five in Luzon, three in the Visayas, and three in Mindanao. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)