• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The Army’s 3rd Infantry Division reported infiltration in schools and attempts to recruit students by allied organizations of the New People’s Army (NPA) in two universities in Western Visayas.
In a statement, the leadership of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division issued a strong call for the cessation of all recruitment activities of the NPA within schools, following the recent discovery of recruitment materials believed to be circulated by the Kabataang Makabayan (KM) at West Visayas State University and the University of the Philippines – Visayas.
Expressing his grave concern over the aggressive actions by the NPA allied groups in distributing campaign and recruitment materials at the two campuses, Maj. Gen. Marion Sison, 3ID commander, said, “Through deceptive propaganda and misinformation, these infiltration and recruitment efforts might lure and exploit especially vulnerable students to eventually join the ranks of the New People’s Army.”
Sison described the distribution of recruitment materials in schools as a desperate attempt by the rebel allied organizations to look for prospective cadres and leaders following the demise of their top and high-ranking leaders in recent encounters in the Western Visayas region.
“We cannot afford that one or two of our students will again find their way to the mountains and waste their lives fighting for a futile cause. We will not allow this to happen,” said Sison.
He also called on all educational institutions in Panay Island to initiate actions to prevent rebel infiltration and recruitment activities within their premises.
“Investigations should be conducted to identify those responsible for distributing the recruitment materials and to take appropriate administrative action, if warranted,” Sison said.
“Our schools, serving as a second home to our students, must be safe havens, free from the insidious influence of terrorist groups,” he added.
“I hope and pray that our youth will learn from the sad stories and often tragic experiences of those students who have been recruited and turned into NPA members. Most of them are now gone,” Sison further said. | GB
