Military validating list of Metro Manila used by NPAs to recruit members

October 4, 2018

Some Metro Manila schools being used as possible areas to mobilize students by the New People's Army (NPA) are being subjected to validation, a military spokesman said Thursday.

But Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, spokesman of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said in a statement that the military is "firm in our position that some of the schools in that list have been, and widely known to have been used, as fora for communist recruitment."

Arevalo did not say what these schools were.

Last Wednesday, the military said colleges and universities where recruitment are ongoing were Polytechnic University-Sta Mesa, Ateneo de Manila, De La Salle University, University of Sto Tomas, Adamson University, Far Eastern University, University of the East-Recto, UE-Caloocan, Emilio Aguinaldo College, Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology, San Beda College, Lyceum of the Phillipines University, University of Makati, Caloocan City College (now University of Caloocan), University of Manila, University of the Philippines Manila and Diliman campuses and Philippine Normal University.

Arevalo said the military is reaching out to the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd), and the administrators of some of the schools to prevent "the arouse-organize-mobilize scheme of the CPP-NPA."

Arevalo said "students are agitated initially towards activism; mobilize them as militants, and finally recruit them as regular NPA cadres and leaders to fill up the dwindling number of  political cadres.

Arevalo pointed out that total NPA regulars and sympathizers neutralized as of October 3 were 10,049. Included are 939 NPA regulars who surrendered and 104 NPA regulars who died in armed engagements with AFP, explained Arevalo.

"We wish to assuage the fear of our people about this recent development. This was not intended to brand those schools as communists. In doing this, the AFP wants to create awareness among our people especially parents who were complaining and asking for our help," said Arevalo.

Arevalo said the military has received reports from "concerned parents communicating to us their worries about the “brainwashing” activities that their children were subjected to like films showing; video teleconferencing with a terrorist leader like Jose Ma. Sison; and Martial law reenactments during break time of high school students, etc." DMS