Duterte Youth, League of Parents represent admin interest, not youth —UP student leader

The chairman of the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Student Council on Wednesday said the Duterte Youth Party-list and the League of Parents of the Philippines (LPP) do not represent the interest of youth but that of the administration.

Interviewed on ANC on Wednesday, UP Diliman Student Council chairperson Froilan Cariaga made the statement after the groups held a protest at the university in support of the termination of the accord between UP and the government that required state forces to notify school officials before conducting operations inside campus.

“Ito pong League of Parents of the Philippines and Duterte Youth Party-list, while they claim to be youth representatives, they actually only represent the Duterte regime,” he said.

During the protest on Tuesday, supporters and critics of the University of the Philippines engaged in a heated argument.

Cariaga said UP supporters did not initiate the commotion.

The pact with the university was unilaterally terminated by the Department of National Defense via a letter dated Jan. 15, with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana claiming that communists were recruiting students inside UP campuses.

UP leaders said the accord's cancellation threatens the freedom that has made the university a safe space for activism for decades. They assert that academic freedom is a right guaranteed by the Constitution.

“Sa claim naman po ni Secretary Lorenzana na itong unilateral termination nila ng UP-DND accord ay para protektahan ang mga estudyante, this is actually a very ironic and hypocritical statement,” Cariaga said.

Cariaga added that the DND as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict are the ones endangering the UP community through red-tagging.

“The AFP, DND, NTF-ELCAC themselves are the ones endangering the very lives of UP students and UP community every time po na nangre-red-tag sila, every time na kini-claim nila na mayroong NPA and communist recruitment with campus grounds,” he added.

Serve the people?

In a statement following the protest on Tuesday, Duterte Youth party-list Representative Ducielle Cardema argued that "non-leftist" Filipinos should also be allowed to conduct demonstrations inside state-funded campuses like UP.

She questioned why civilians who are not part of the issue in the UP-DND Accord but are anti-CPP-NPA are being prevented from entering the UP Diliman campus.

"Hindi ito nakatitulo sa mga makakaliwang grupo nila. Ang UP ay pagmamay-ari ng sambayanang Pilipino," Cardema said.

"Isinisigaw-sigaw nila paulit-ulit na Paglingkuran ang Sambayanan (Serve the People), tapos yung parte ng sambayanan na nasa UP gate na nagsasalita lamang laban sa CPP-NPA, ayaw paglingkuran at papasukin," she added.

Cardema said that "leftist" groups do not have the monopoly in patriotism and love for country.

"Karamihan ng mga Pilipino ay may diwa ng nasyonalismo na walang kaugnayan sa komunismo. Bakit bawal sila papasukin at marinig sa isang pampublikong institusyon ng ating bansa na sinasabi nilang open sa lahat ng ideolohiya at paniniwala?" she said.

'Parents not used in propaganda'

LPP president Remy Rosadio said that they are representing parents whose children were supposedly recruited by progressive groups.

“Parents whose children nearly recruited and concerned parents who joined us because they are afraid that one day their children might be recruited by the front organization of CPP-NPA-NDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front),” she told GMA News Online in a text message.

“We are parents not used in propaganda like what UP leftist had been doing. We are parents whose main concern is the safety of our children while in school,” Rosadio added.

According to Rosadio, the heated argument during their protest started when someone from the UP camp allegedly shouted at them: “Alis kayo dito, nanggugulo lang kayo.”

GMA News Online has contacted Duterte Youth but has yet to receive their reply as of posting time. —With a report from Erwin Colcol/KG/RSJ, GMA News