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The speaker, a soldier who claims to be a former rebel, identifies the Kabataan Party-list and College Editors Guild of the Philippines as alleged ‘NPA recruiters’
CEBU CITY, Philippines – The student publication of the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R) sounded alarm bells over the red-tagging of several groups by a soldier during a recent forum at the institution’s main campus in Cebu City.
Forward Publications, the university’s student newspaper, identified the soldier as Staff Sergeant Joy Dela Peña. The soldier, who claimed to be a former member of the New People’s Army (NPA), identified the Kabataan Party-list and College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP), among others, as alleged “NPA recruiters” during a forum at the USJ-R main campus on October 5.
During the forum where Dela Peña served as a speaker, images of deceased activists and human rights defenders were shown, causing unease among many participants. Their names, affiliations, and educational backgrounds were also made public.
Forward Publications was referred to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service when it sought a statement from the university’s Security and Safety Department, and Public Affairs and International Relations office.
One student expressed concerns that the Data Privacy Act of 2012 may have been violated and questioned the administration’s decision to invite such a speaker.
Similar fora have been held by the AFP at other Cebu universities, including Cebu Normal University in 2023 and the University of San Carlos in 2020.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in Region VII explained the implications of red-tagging during a seminar at the USJ-R on Thursday, October 10, or five days after the controversial forum.
Lawyer Euvic Ferrer, chief of the CHR legal division, discussed the chilling effects of red-tagging during the seminar organized by the USJ-R’s Josenian Political Science Society, in collaboration with the CHR-VII.
Early this year, the Supreme Court (SC) defined red-tagging as an act that threatens constitutional rights to life, liberty, and security. Red-tagging involves the use of threats and intimidation to suppress alleged subversive activities, with the potential risk of abduction or killing.
The legal definition provides a basis for citizens challenging red-tagging and serves as a warning to lower courts not to dismiss petitions for a writ of amparo without conducting a proper hearing. – Rappler.com
Cris Fernan Bayaga is a campus journalist from the University of the Philippines Cebu’s Lanog, the official student publication of the College of Communication, Art, and Design. He is also an Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow of Rappler for 2024.
