by Aaron Recuenco
The Philippine National Police (PNP) has initiated moves to stop the recruitment of New Peoples Army (NPA) among college students amid the government’s recent decision to go all-out against the rebel group.
The first step is a call for both the students and their parents to be wary of student organizations which the police believe to have been infiltrated by the communist rebels.
Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, PNP spokesman, said one of the indications of the affiliation of the student organizations is its conduct of off-campus activities in known rebel-infested areas.
“The Philippine National Police discourages students from venturing into insurgency-affected areas to join summer off-campus activities that are organized by groups that may have been infiltrated by front organizations of the terrorist CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines)-NPA,” said Bulalacao.
“At the same time, the PNP cautioned parents of students to be wary of extra-curricular activities that are not sanctioned or approved by school officials such as off-campus social immersion programs, teach-ins, symposia, and social field work,” he added.
Bulalacao’s statement came following incidents of college students being sighted with communist rebels in NPA-infested areas in the country.
He added that in some cases, some of those college students were monitored to be joining the communist rebels in ambush or attacks on government forces.
Bulalacao noted recent incidents of armed confrontation between government security forces and CPP-NPA fighters that resulted in the death or arrest of university students.
“The sad part is that their parents never knew of their involvement with the underground movement,” said Bulalacao.
The official urged parents to monitor the activities of their children this long school break, especially that both the police and military are expected to intensify the operations in rebel-infested areas.
It was recalled that the Duterte administration has vowed to finish off the communist rebels after renewed attempts to lure them in a peace negotiating table had bogged down anew.
The Duterte administration is also seeking the declaration of CPP and NPA as terrorist groups.
“I advise these students to avoid compromising situations and possible conflict with the law while engaged in CPP-NPA activities,” said Bulalacao.
Some members of militant youth and student organizations, he said, are known to participate in CPP/NPA indoctrination and “social immersion” courses in training camps in the hills during the summer vacation when students are on academic break.
