Kabataan party-list condemns Red-tagging by AFP

Kabataan party-list Representative Sarah Elago on Thursday condemned the statement of the military that several schools in Metro Manila were being used as recruitment hubs of the Communist Party of the Philippines.

At a press conference, Elago said the statement of Brigadier General Antonio Parlade Jr., Armed Forces deputy chief of staff for operations, was an attack on democratic rights of the students.

"Ito ay kinukundena ng Kabataan party-list bilang pag-atake sa demokratikong karapatan hindi lang ng mga estudyante kundi ng buong komunidad ng mga universities and colleges paticularly doon sa student governance, sa campus press, sa freedom of association," Elago told reporters.

Among the schools that Parlade identified as recruitment hubs of communist rebels are the Diliman and Manila campuses of the University of the Philippines, the Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

For Elago, Parlade made the statement in order to discourage critical thinking and expression among students of universities who have been opposing the "anti-people" policies of the Duterte administration.

"Bago ang [September 21], may mga kumalat na fear-mongering tactics. Nagpakalat ng mga bomb threats at ang PNP mismo at AFP ang nagsabi na huwag nang sumali ang mga estudyante sa mga pagkilos laban sa diktaturya," she said.

"Yan ay isang malaking atake hindi lamang doon sa mga demokratikong karapatan ng mga estudyante kundi pag-atake din sa kasaysayan ng pagkilos, ng pakikialam at paglaban ng mga pamantasan," she added.

Several schools in the list have denied Parlade's claim. —NB, GMA News