PNP reminds parents to watch children’s summer activities

April 1, 2019

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday reminded parents and school administrators carefully watch “extra-curricular activities” of students this summer after the capture of an 18 year old New People’s Army member believed involved in the Victoria Municipal Police Station attack last week.

“As we usher the summer season with the culmination of the previous school year, I am taking the urgency of raising awareness among parents and school administrators to be mindful of students' extra-curricular activities that are not sanctioned or approved by school authorities such as off-campus social immersion programs, teach-ins, symposia, social field work and community organization in areas of operation of armed units of the local communist movement,” Police General Oscar Albayalde said in a press briefing.

The PNP chief said communist rebels, through its front organizations, exploits such activities to recruit fighters among students.

“Some members of militant youth and student organizations are also known to participate in indoctrination and “social immersion” courses in clandestine training camps during school break, without their parents knowing about it,” he said.

According to Albayalde, there had been persistent reports of sighting and even active participation of some university students in some insurgent activities including armed engagements with government security forces.

He said last March 28 police officers from Victoria Municipal Police Station captured Aljon Cardenas, 18, and a student of the state-run University of Eastern

Philippines in Calbayog City.He was among 50 communist combatants who went on a murderous shooting and looting rampage in Victoria, Northern Samar, police said.

“Cardenas is not the first, and hopefully he would be the last student to fall for the grand communist deception who allowed himself to be used as cannon fodder in this 50-year protracted war of the CPP-NPA that is going nowhere,” said Albayalde.

He said as a general policy, the PNP recognizes academic freedom as important to promote critical thinking.

“We have no problem with student radicalism, but the moment militant students take up arms to topple government, they become enemies of the state and subject to appropriate law enforcement response. God forbid but we do not want these unwary students to be along the line of fire when our maneuver forces launch a summer offensive in the CPP-NPA heartland in the coming weeks,” said Albayalde.

“But despite our hardline stance against the communist terrorists, the PNP continue to extend the government's grand gesture of peace and reconciliation thru peace negotiations with local units of the CPP-NPA-NDF under a National Peace Framework pursuant to Executive Order No. 70,” he added.

According to Brigadier General Dionardo Carlos, the Eastern Visayas regional police director, said they are conducting tactical interrogation against the captured rebel.

“The 18-year-old that we captured is giving information,” Carlos said. Ella Dionisio/DMS