Students of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) protested the participation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in a forum titled “Preventing Terror Grooming: The Philippine Experience”.
According to Ray Manuel, chairperson of Kabataan Partylist — UST Artlets, the event would just serve as an avenue to red-tag student activists, referring to the practice of labeling activists and human rights defenders as communists and terrorists.
He said NTF-ELCAC and other government agencies have been using the term "terror grooming" to discredit legal progressive organizations.
The task force has accused activist organizations, including Kabataan Partylist, of recruiting for the Communist Party of the Philippines and New People's Army.
It has also opposed passage of a Human Rights Defenders bill, saying it would "institutionalize" and protect so-called communist front organizations.
Manuel said letting the "regressive" NTF-ELCAC into the university would restrict open and democratic discussion.
He added that they would not allow such a repressive institution to infiltrate the university and undermine the freedom to engage in open and democratic discussion.
“We consider it as a direct attack to our democratic rights,” he said.
Meanwhile, Karlos De Gorio, a Political Science student, said the government should focus on more relevant and pressing issues rather than pursuing minor offenses like dressing up like a police officer for Halloween.
“Pinipili nilang unahin yung mga minor offenses, na nag te-threaten sa imahe ng gobyerno. Imbes na, i-tackle talaga yung mga mahahalagang problema, tulad ng korapsyon, kahirapan, kagutuman.”
(They go after minor offenses that threaten the image of the government instead of tackling important problems like corruption, poverty, and hunger)
Although the NTF-ELCAC was removed from the forum, the students continued to condemn the coordination between the UST Political Science Department and the National Security Council (NSC) for its alleged involvement in human rights violations.
