By NEIL RAMOS
Robin Padilla wants to open the eyes of today’s youth regarding their rampant recruitment as orchestrated by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
He is doing so by producing under his very own RCP Production, a heart-wrenching documentary dubbed “Memoirs of a Teenage Rebel,” which follows the story of former New People’s Army (NPA) member, Ivy Corpin.
Ivy joined the CPP’s so-called revolution as a volunteer. She would eventually be tasked to recruit young idealists into the fold including a friend, Aira, who, sadly, will be raped multiple times by her own comrades, prior to her dying in an encounter with government forces.
This finally awakens Ivy into realizing that she’s fighting the wrong war.
Ivy then comes out to tell her story, in her own words, and to give advice to the youth: to not follow the same path she and Aira did.
Also appearing in the well-presented documentary is a former female NPA urban poor recruiter who was sexually abused while in the organization; another recruiter who admits to manipulating the minds of indigenous people to help serve their cause; former NPA commanders who reveal how they extort money from businesses nationwide; a former NGO finance officer who explains how the CCP get international funding through exploitation; tribal leaders who express their fear of the rebels; captured rebels that were unharmed and were given a new chance for a better life; a mother still searching for her teenage daughter who is assumed to have joined the rebellion; and a Catholic priest who explains the value of parents spending time with their children to avoid possible recruitment.
General Cirilito Sobejana, the Commanding General of Philippine Army; General Gilbert Gapay, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines; and Hermogenes Esperon, National Security Adviser and Director, also contributed their own thoughts on the topic in the documentary.